IEEE Citation Generator
An IEEE citation generator formats references in the bracketed-number style set by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers — initials before last names, quoted article titles, and abbreviated field labels like "vol." and "pp." It's the standard format for engineering and computer-science papers, conference proceedings, and technical reports. Search by title, DOI, ISBN, or URL, confirm the match, and get a bracketed reference plus its in-text number.
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This IEEE citation generator formats references in the style set by the IEEE Reference Guide, the required format for IEEE journals, conferences, and most engineering and computer-science coursework. IEEE numbers each source in square brackets in citation order, gives authors as initials-then-surname, wraps titles in quotation marks instead of italicizing them, and abbreviates volume/issue/page labels — a distinct look compared to the AMA/ACS/Vancouver numeric family. Run a journal article, a book, or a website through this IEEE citation generator and each comes back with the same bracket numbering.
This IEEE citation generator builds the reference entry and the bracketed in-text number directly from the IEEE Reference Guide's own formatting rules, encoded in the open Citation Style Language (CSL) that Zotero also uses. Search by title, DOI, ISBN, or URL and this IEEE citation generator pulls in a source automatically; confirm it's the right one, or type the details in by hand and the IEEE citation generator still returns the same correctly bracketed result.
Who uses IEEE style
IEEE style is required for submissions to IEEE journals and conferences and is the default citation format in most engineering, computer science, and electronics coursework. If a lab report, technical paper, or conference submission specifies "IEEE style" or "IEEE Reference Guide," an IEEE citation generator keeps every bracket number and abbreviation consistent across a long reference list.
How to cite a journal article in IEEE
This IEEE citation generator puts author initials first, quotes the article title, italicizes the journal name, and abbreviates volume/issue/page labels:
[1] J. D. Watson and F. H. C. Crick, "Molecular structure of nucleic acids: a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid," Nature, vol. 171, no. 4356, pp. 737–738, Apr. 1953, doi: 10.1038/171737a0.
The in-text citation is the bracketed number: the double-helix structure was proposed in [1].
How to cite a book in IEEE
Feed a book's edition, city, and publisher into this IEEE citation generator and it lists the city and publisher before the year, with the edition after the title:
[1] T. H. Cormen, C. E. Leiserson, R. L. Rivest, and C. Stein, Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009.
How to cite a website in IEEE
For a webpage, this IEEE citation generator includes the access date and an "[Online]. Available:" line before the URL. The date below is this example's write-up date — the live tool always stamps the date you actually run it:
[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Diabetes Basics," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed: Aug. 12, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/index.html
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does IEEE style quote article titles instead of italicizing them?
What order do authors go in for IEEE citations?
Does IEEE style use footnotes or in-text numbers?
Can I generate an IEEE citation from just a DOI or a URL?
Is my search or text sent to Akmon's servers?
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