Various release test methods have been applied for the evaluation of nicotine release in vitro from commercial patches. However, whether and how the release data reflect the permeation of nicotine across the skin, is not fully elucidated. To predict in vivo bioavailability from in vitro release tests, correlation between in vitro release and in vitro skin permeation was assessed in the present study. Release of nicotine from three commercial patches was measured for 24 hours under nine experimental conditions which were classified depending on the apparatus (i.e., paddle over disk, cylinder and reciprocating holder) and dissolution media (i.e., phosphate buffer pH 7.4, water and the 1% phosphoric acid pH 1.5). In vitro permeation of nicotine from the patches across the human cadaver skin was also measured using a diffusion cell. The release of nicotine was better explained by the Higuchi`s equation rather than by the first order rate equation. Correlation between the release rate and the in vitro skin permeation differed among the patches. However, in general, the cylinder method, in which water is used as a dissolution medium, showed the highest correlation among the nine release test conditions.