IEEE citation format uses numbers in square brackets in the text, such as [1], and a numbered reference list in the order sources are first cited. It is the standard style in electrical, electronic and computer engineering and much of computer science.
This page covers in-text rules and reference formats for the source types engineering students use most. Names in the examples are illustrative unless the source is a well-known real work.
How IEEE Citation Works in Two Rules
First, number sources in the order you first cite them, and reuse a source's number every time you cite it again. Second, list the references in that numerical order at the end, not alphabetically.
Author initials come before the surname, article titles go in quotation marks and journal or book titles in italics.
In-Text Citations
Place the bracketed number inside the sentence, before the full stop or comma. The number can stand on its own or follow an author's name.
Graphene transistors have reached cut-off frequencies above 100 GHz [1].
Lin et al. [2] reported a similar trend in silicon devices.
Several studies support this result [1], [3], [5].
A range of sources: [2]–[5].
As shown in [4], the filter remains stable at high gain.
Avoid writing "in reference [4]"; "in [4]" is enough. For a specific page, figure or equation, add it inside the bracket, as in [4, p. 12] or [4, Fig. 3].
Journal Articles
Format: [n] A. B. Author, C. Author, and D. Author, “Title of article,” Abbrev. Title of Journal, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Month Year, doi: xx.xxxx.
[1] Y. LeCun, Y. Bengio, and G. Hinton, “Deep learning,” Nature, vol. 521, no. 7553, pp. 436–444, 2015, doi: 10.1038/nature14539.
Use the journal's standard abbreviation, such as IEEE Trans. Power Electron., where one exists. Article titles take sentence case, with only the first word and proper nouns capitalized.
For a work with more than six authors, IEEE allows the first author's name followed by "et al." in the reference list.
Conference Papers
Format: [n] A. Author, “Title of paper,” in Proc. Abbrev. Name of Conf., City, Country, Year, pp. xx–xx, doi: xx.xxxx.
[2] S. Lin and R. Ortiz, “Energy-aware routing for wireless sensor networks,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Commun. (ICC), Rome, Italy, 2023, pp. 1120–1125.
Conference papers matter in computing, where major results often appear there first. Include the word "in" before the proceedings title.
Books and Book Chapters
Book: [3] K. Mensah, Digital Signal Processing for Engineers, 2nd ed. London, U.K.: Example Press, 2020.
Chapter in an edited book: [4] R. Ortiz, “Control of power converters,” in Power Electronics Handbook, S. Lin, Ed. New York, NY, USA: Example Press, 2021, pp. 211–240.
Give the edition only if it is not the first. Book titles use title case and italics.
Standards, Theses and Websites
Standard: [5] IEEE Standard for Floating-Point Arithmetic, IEEE Std 754-2019, 2019.
Thesis: [6] K. A. Mensah, “Fatigue behavior of additively manufactured titanium lattices,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Mech. Eng., Univ. Leeds, Leeds, U.K., 2021.
Website: [7] Example Energy Agency, “Grid storage outlook,” Example Energy Agency. Accessed: Mar. 12, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://example.org/storage
Web sources need an access date because pages change. Prefer official documentation and peer-reviewed sources over blogs and forums.
Quick Reference by Source Type
| Source | Key elements in order |
|---|---|
| Journal article | Authors, "title," journal, vol., no., pp., date, doi |
| Conference paper | Authors, "title," in Proc. conference, place, year, pp. |
| Book | Authors, title, edition. Place: publisher, year |
| Book chapter | Authors, "chapter," in book, editors, Ed. Place: publisher, year, pp. |
| Standard | Title, standard number, date |
| Thesis | Author, "title," degree, department, university, place, year |
| Website | Author or organization, "title," site. Accessed: date. [Online]. Available: URL |
Common IEEE Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Reference list in alphabetical order | Order by first citation in the text |
| A new number each time a source is reused | Reuse the original number |
| Full first names | Initials before the surname: S. Lin |
| Article title in italics | Quotation marks for article titles, italics for journals |
| Citation after the full stop | Put the bracket inside the sentence |
| Missing DOI or access date | Add the DOI for articles and an access date for web pages |
Reference Managers and LaTeX
Zotero, Mendeley and EndNote all include an IEEE style, and LaTeX users can apply the IEEEtran BibTeX style. Both save time, but always check the output: imported records often have wrong capitalization, missing issue numbers or full journal names instead of abbreviations.
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. References are listed in the order they are first cited in the text, numbered [1], [2], [3] and so on.
Yes. Use the same number every time you cite that source.
Put each number in its own brackets separated by commas, as in [1], [3], or use a dash for a continuous range: [2]–[5].
Include a DOI whenever the source has one. It is the most reliable way for readers to find the work.
Initials first, then surname: A. B. Author. Use "and" before the last author in the list.
Electrical and electronic engineering, computer engineering, computer science and many related technical fields.
Cite the source in the figure caption, for example "Adapted from [3]." and make sure the source appears in your reference list. Reusing figures in published work may also need permission.
At the end of the paper, under the heading References, before any appendices, with each entry numbered to match the text.