A simple and rapid liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of propranolol hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparations. The separation was achieved on a reverse-phase octylsilane (C8) column by using a mobile phase composed of a mixture of 0.5 g dodecyl sodium sulfate in 18 mL (0.15 M) H3PO4 plus 90 mL methanol, 90 mL acetonitrile, and 52 mL water. Detector response was linear for 0.03-3.1 mg/mL of propranolol. Recoveries from synthetic mixtures ranged from 99.6 to 101.7%. The results obtained by the proposed method were similar to those obtained by the USP XXI method.