The Objective of the study is to design oral controlled drug delivery systems for highly water-soluble drugs, using Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC)- a non-ionic hydrogel. Metoprolol tartarate was chosen as a model drug because of its high water solubility¹. Matrix tablets containing about 35% of HPMC were prepared by wet granulation technique. The matrix tablets were evaluated for hardness, thickness, uniformity and subjected to in vitro drug release studies. The drug release from the metoprolol tartarate matrix tablets was according to Higuchi?s laws showed a quicker release at the beginning and slower at the end which is a characteristic of an inert matrix with pores. The result indicated that HPMC is a potent carrier in the design of oral controlled drug delivery systems for highly water soluble drugs such as metoprolol tartarate.