Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an external pharmaceutical composition that imparts light stability to a ?-blocker (particularly propranolol hydrochloride) and is excellent in the balance between transdermal absorbability and skin retention, and the present invention provides a complex composed of a water-soluble ?-blocker and lecithin, a method for producing the complex, an external pharmaceutical composition containing the complex, and the like. The complex or a dispersion in oil containing the complex is applied to an existing pharmaceutical external preparation formulation (for example, W/O type cream), and a complex containing a ?-blocker is allowed to be present in the O phase, thereby avoiding contact with water or dissolved oxygen and reducing the risk of photolysis.