An insulin-loaded emulsion system (IES) was developed as a hypoglycaemic drug for transmucosal delivery. The selected formulation was a stable oil/water emulsion system. The particles in the emulsion system were distributed evenly, and the particle size ranged from 20 to 260 nm (average size: 67.5 nm). Soybean lecithin played an important role in the emulsion system due to its abilities of acting as both absorption enhancer for insulin uptake through sublingual mucosa and oily phase for the emulsion system. The laser confocal scanning microscopic (LCSM) study showed that FITC-labelled insulin could penetrate the sublingual mucosa of rabbits, and the phase diagrams of the emulsion system suggested that soybean lecithin could take the place of oily phase to construct a stable emulsion system even if the traditional oil was absent. The applications of soybean lecithin as pharmaceutical biomaterial were extended for the further usage by present studies. An insulin-loaded emulsion system (IES) was developed as a hypoglycaemic drug for transmucosal delivery. The selected formulation was a stable oil / water emulsion system. The particles in the emulsion system were distributed evenly, and the particle size ranged from 20 to 260 nm (average size: 67.5 nm). Soybean lecithin played an important role in the emulsion system due to its abilities of acting as both absorption enhancer for insulin uptake through sublingual mucosa and oily phase for the emulsion system. The laser confocal scanning microscopic ) study showed that FITC-labeled insulin could penetrate the sublingual mucosa of rabbits, and the phase diagrams of the emulsion system suggested that soybean lecithin could take the place of oily phase to construct a stable emulsion system even if the traditional oil was absent. applications of soybean lecithin as pharmaceutical biomaterial were extended for the further usage by present studies.