The present invention is benzilidene malonamide represented by the following formula (1) and salts thereof, an ultraviolet absorbent consisting of said new compound, and an external preparation containing this ultraviolet absorbent.The object of the present invention is to provide a new ultraviolet absorbent that is highly soluble in water, has superior absorption capacity over a wide ultraviolet wavelength range, has no absorption in the visible region, and is also highly stable and safe.