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The IUPAC Gold Book is the popular name of the IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, a collection of chemistry term definitions published by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). It gathers definitions from IUPAC recommendations already published in Pure and Applied Chemistry and in the other IUPAC Colour Books. Researchers use it when they need a recognised reference definition for a term in a manuscript, protocol or data model. For the field itself, see what chemistry is.
What It Is
The Compendium is the Gold Book entry in IUPAC’s series of Colour Books on chemical nomenclature, terminology, symbols and units. The DOI for the work as a whole is 10.1351/goldbook, registered with Crossref under the title “The IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology”. Individual entries have their own DOIs of the same pattern; for example, “canonical form” is 10.1351/goldbook.c00788.
It is a terminology reference, not a dictionary of everyday usage and not a registry of substances. An entry tells you how IUPAC defines a term and which source the definition comes from.
Who Runs It and What It Covers
IUPAC publishes the Gold Book. According to the Crossref record, the Compendium is popularly called the “Gold Book” in recognition of the late Victor Gold, who initiated work on the first edition; Alan McNaught is listed as an additional editor. It collects terminology definitions from IUPAC recommendations already published in Pure and Applied Chemistry and from the other Colour Books.
IUPAC’s Colour Books page lists the series as follows:
- Green Book: Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry
- Red Book: Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry
- Blue Book: Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry
- Purple Book: Compendium of Polymer Terminology and Nomenclature
- Orange Book: Analytical Terminology
- Silver Book: Compendium of Terminology and Nomenclature of Properties in Clinical Laboratory Sciences
- White Book: Biochemical Nomenclature
- Gold Book: Chemical Terminology
How to Search or Use It
IUPAC’s Databases page describes the online Gold Book as an interactive version of the Compendium with a browsable alphabetical index, several thematic indexes and a search function. It is hosted at goldbook.iupac.org.
When you rely on an entry in your own work:
- Check the source cited in the entry. IUPAC states that each term is correct based on the source cited in its entry.
- Cite the term-level DOI where one is shown, together with the IUPAC Compendium, so readers can reach the exact entry. See also chemistry manuscript writing conventions for how a journal may expect references to be formatted.
- Check the definition against newer IUPAC recommendations or Colour Books before you adopt it as authoritative (see the next section).
For ontology work, a 2024 ChemRxiv whitepaper by Strömert, Hunold, Chalk, McEwen and Koepler gives guidance on using Gold Book definitions as a definition source and on how to reference them (see Sources). Preprints of this kind are hosted on ChemRxiv.
Strengths and Limits
Strengths:
- Definitions trace to published IUPAC sources, so a reader can follow a term back to its origin.
- Entries have persistent DOIs, which makes term-level citation possible.
- It sits within the Colour Books series, so terms can be read alongside the nomenclature and symbol standards.
Limits:
- Currency. IUPAC’s Databases page notes that the compendium of terms is not up to date, that the latest IUPAC Recommendations and Colour Books have yet to be incorporated, and that a definition may since have been superseded or may not reflect current chemical understanding. IUPAC Divisions are reviewing all entries.
- Scope. It defines terms; it does not register individual substances. For compound records, see a database such as PubChem.
Alternatives
Other IUPAC Colour Books cover related ground, with a different purpose from the Gold Book:
| Resource | What it covers (per IUPAC) |
|---|---|
| Gold Book | Chemical terminology |
| Green Book | Quantities, units and symbols in physical chemistry |
| Blue Book | Nomenclature of organic chemistry |
| Red Book | Nomenclature of inorganic chemistry |
| Orange Book | Analytical terminology |
| Purple Book | Polymer terminology and nomenclature |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called the “Gold Book”?
The Crossref record for the Compendium says it is popularly referred to as the “Gold Book” in recognition of the late Victor Gold, who initiated work on the first edition.
How do I cite a definition from the IUPAC Gold Book?
Entries carry their own DOIs under the 10.1351/goldbook prefix, for example 10.1351/goldbook.c00788 for “canonical form”. Cite the entry DOI together with the IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, and follow the reference format your journal or publisher requires.
What is the difference between the Gold Book and the Blue Book?
The Gold Book is titled Chemical Terminology; the Blue Book is titled Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry. They are separate volumes in the same Colour Books series.
Is the Gold Book up to date?
Not fully. IUPAC states that the latest IUPAC Recommendations and Colour Books have yet to be incorporated and that IUPAC Divisions are reviewing all entries, so check the cited source for any definition you depend on.
Is there a DOI for the Gold Book itself?
Yes: https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook. Linking persistent identifiers such as a Crossref DOI keeps citations stable.
Sources
All sources below were checked on 2026-11-07.
- IUPAC. The IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology (Crossref record). https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook
- IUPAC. “canonical form”, Gold Book entry. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.c00788
- IUPAC. Color Books. https://iupac.org/what-we-do/color-books/
- IUPAC. Databases (IUPAC Gold Book description). https://iupac.org/what-we-do/databases/
- Strömert, P., Hunold, J., Chalk, S., McEwen, L., and Koepler, O. (2024). Guidance on how to use the IUPAC Gold Book as a canonical source for textual definitions in chemical ontologies. ChemRxiv. https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-fvzpq
