How to Cite a Book in Vancouver Format

The Vancouver style is a numeric citation system commonly used in medicine, health sciences, and many biological sciences. It was developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and emphasizes concise, numbered references in the order they appear.

This guide explains what Vancouver is, gives clear general rules, shows step‑by‑step examples for books and other common source types, and covers in‑text citations, reference list formatting, and common mistakes to avoid. Use Rephrasely’s free citation generator to produce correct references quickly.

General Rules

References are numbered sequentially in the order they first appear in the text. Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3...).
Author names: surname first, followed by initials without punctuation (e.g., Smith J, Brown AB).
List up to six authors. If there are more than six, list the first six followed by et al.
Titles of books are in sentence case (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns).
Edition (if not the first) is listed after the title (e.g., 3rd ed.).
Place of publication, publisher, and year are required for books: City: Publisher; Year.
Journal articles include journal title (usually abbreviated), year, volume(issue):page range.
Always follow your journal, department, or instructor’s specific punctuation and spacing rules—Vancouver has minor variations.

How to Cite by Source Type

Book — single author

Format: Author(s). Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year.

Smith J. Clinical Neurology. 2nd ed. New York: Medical Press; 2018.

Book — multiple authors

List authors in the order shown on the work. If more than six authors, list the first six then add et al.

Nguyen T, Brown AB, Lee C, Patel R, Kumar S, Davis M. Respiratory Medicine Basics. London: Health Books; 2020.

Edited book

When editors are responsible for the whole book, use “editors” or “eds.” after their names.

O’Connor P, Wilson G, eds. Advances in Cardiology. 3rd ed. Toronto: Heart Press; 2016.

Chapter in an edited book

Format: Chapter author(s). Chapter title. In: Editor(s), editors. Book title. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year. p. pages.

Evans L, Morgan D. Stroke rehabilitation strategies. In: Richards S, Hall T, eds. Rehabilitation Medicine. 2nd ed. Boston: RehabPub; 2019. p. 145-60.

Journal article

Format: Author(s). Article title. Journal Abbrev. Year;Volume(Issue):page range.

Walker P, Chen R. New approaches to diabetes care. J Diabetes Res. 2021;12(4):210-18.

Website

Format: Author(s) (if available). Title [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher (if available); Year [cited Year Month Day]. Available from: URL

World Health Organization. Tobacco fact sheet [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2020 [cited 2023 May 10]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco

Conference paper / Proceedings

Format: Author(s). Title of paper. In: Editor(s), editors. Title of proceedings; Year Month Day; Place. Place: Publisher; Year. p. pages.

Li X, Fernandez J. Telemedicine in rural practice. In: Smith A, Jones B, eds. Proceedings of the 10th International Telehealth Conference; 2019 May 20-22; Madrid, Spain. Madrid: TeleMed Press; 2019. p. 34-9.

Actionable tip: copy a sample of the exact output above and replace fields with your publication details. Or paste your DOI/URL into Rephrasely’s citation generator to create the reference automatically.

In-Text Citations

Vancouver uses numbers for in-text citations, linked to entries in the reference list. Numbers are assigned in the order sources are first cited.

You can format the in-text citation as superscript or in square brackets depending on journal or instructor preference. Always be consistent.

Superscript example: Recent studies show improved outcomes.^1
Bracket example: Recent studies show improved outcomes [1].
Multiple citations: list numbers separated by commas or hyphens for ranges (e.g., [1,3,6] or [1–3]).

Placement: place citation numbers immediately after the relevant clause or sentence. Some styles put the number before punctuation and others after; check guidelines for your target journal.

Example (superscript): The new protocol reduced complication rates.^2
Example (bracket): The new protocol reduced complication rates [2].

Reference List — formatting rules and example

The reference list appears at the end of your document and lists every cited source in numeric order by citation number. Do not alphabetize.

Start each entry with its citation number followed by a space (e.g., 1 ).
Use a hanging indent for long entries (most word processors offer this feature).
Keep punctuation and spacing consistent: periods between major elements, colons between place and publisher.
Use journal title abbreviations when required (consult PubMed/NLM Catalog for correct abbreviations).

Sample reference list (showing common types):

1 Smith J. Clinical Neurology. 2nd ed. New York: Medical Press; 2018.
2 Walker P, Chen R. New approaches to diabetes care. J Diabetes Res. 2021;12(4):210-18.
3 Evans L, Morgan D. Stroke rehabilitation strategies. In: Richards S, Hall T, eds. Rehabilitation Medicine. 2nd ed. Boston: RehabPub; 2019. p. 145-60.
4 World Health Organization. Tobacco fact sheet [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2020 [cited 2023 May 10]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
5 Nguyen T, Brown AB, Lee C, Patel R, Kumar S, Davis M, et al. Respiratory Medicine Basics. London: Health Books; 2020.

Actionable tip: generate this list directly with Rephrasely’s free citation generator, then paste into your document and adjust numbering to match the order of first citation in text.

Common Mistakes (and how to fix them)

Mixing citation styles (e.g., APA or MLA elements). Fix: follow Vancouver rules for author initials, numeric citations, and reference ordering.
Incorrect author format (full first names or punctuation in initials). Fix: use surname then initials without periods: Smith J, not John Smith or Smith, J..
Listing more than six authors without using et al. Fix: list the first six, then add et al.
Wrong ordering of reference list (alphabetical instead of numeric). Fix: reorder references to match the order they are first cited in the text.

Pro tip: after final edits, use a tool such as Rephrasely’s citation generator to re-check consistency and then run your draft through Rephrasely’s plagiarism checker and AI detector if needed. For writing support, try the AI writer to create or rewrite citation-aware sections.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I always list all authors in Vancouver style?

No. List up to six authors. If there are more than six, list the first six followed by et al. This keeps references concise and conforms to common Vancouver practice.

Should in-text numbers be superscript or in brackets?

Both formats are used. Superscript numbers are common in many medical journals, while brackets are also acceptable. Follow the guidelines of your target journal, institution, or instructor and be consistent throughout your document.

How to Cite a Book in Vancouver Format