Objective To compare the pharmacokinetics of deme-thoxycurcumin hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin phospholipid complex, deme-thoxycurcumin hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, deme-thoxycurcumin phospholipid complex and deme-thoxycurcumin in rats in vivo, so as to discuss the advantages of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin phospholipid complex as drug carrier. Methods SD rats were gavaged with the preparations and free drug at 50 mg/mL (dose according to deme-thoxycurcumin). Then, blood samples were drawn from rat retinal venous plexus at 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min, 45 min, 1 h, 1.5 h, 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, 10 h, 12 h, 1 d, 2 d and 3 d. And the deme-thoxycurcumin concentrations in blood were determined by HPLC. Results The AUC_0-∞ of deme-thoxycurcumin hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin phospholipid complex was (1 424.87±258.62) μg·L^-1·h, which was higher than that of deme-thoxycurcumin (370.58±2.76) μg·L^-1·h, deme-thoxycurcumin phospholipid complex (716.17±123.18) μg·L^-1·h and deme-thoxycurcumin hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (1 009.35±138.64) μg·L^-1·h, being 3.84, 1.98, and 1.41 folds of deme-thoxycurcumin, deme-thoxycurcumin phospholipid complex and deme-thoxycurcumin hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, respectively (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Conclusion The deme-thoxycurcumin hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin phospholipid complex has a better absorption property than deme-thoxycurcumin phospholipid complex and deme-thoxycurcumin hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, which can help to improve the bioavailability.