Acupuncture Research accepts online submissions only. Authors must register and submit their manuscripts through our submission system. Please do not mail hard copies or send manuscripts as email attachments. The editorial office email (zcyjbjb@vip.163.com) is reserved for inquiries, manuscript revisions, and related correspondence.

(1) Steps for Online Submission

a) Registration: Visit the journal's website (https://zhenciyanjiu.cn), click on “Submission” on the left panel to enter the submission portal. Select “Register”, create a valid username and password as instructed, fill in the required registration information, and submit your registration.

b) Login and Submission: On the journal homepage, click on “Submission” on the left panel, then enter your username and password on the login page to access the submission system. Follow the instructions to upload your manuscript and verify or complete the required submission information.

c) Post-submission Tracking: After submission, authors may log in at any time to check the review status of their manuscript and view related information, such as review fee payment, publication fee payment, and electronic invoice downloads. Authors may also track the real-time progress of their manuscript through the journal's Official WeChat Account.

(2) Notes for Online Submission

a) Authors are advised to consult the Clinical Research Paper Template and Annotations and the Mechanism Study Paper Template and Annotations available on the Download Center page. Please revise your manuscript according to the templates before submission to improve writing quality and increase the likelihood of acceptance.

b) The journal strictly opposes duplicate publication of research results and all forms of academic misconduct, including simultaneous submission to multiple journals. For details, please refer to the Research Integrity Guidelines available on the page of Policies and Standards. If you wish to submit your manuscript to another journal within two months after receiving the acknowledgment of receipt from our journal, you must contact the editorial office first; do not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously. Revised manuscripts not returned within two months will be considered withdrawn by the authors.

c) A review fee of CNY 50 is required for each submission. The review process generally takes about two months, after which the editorial office will notify you of the result. Manuscripts cannot enter the review process until the review fee has been paid. If the review fee is not received within 15 working days after submission, the manuscript will be returned. A fast-track review option is available with a review fee of CNY 100; upon receipt of the fee, the review process is typically completed within approximately 20 working days. Please note that Alipay is currently not supported for payment. Do not attempt Alipay payment through the system. Payments should be made via bank transfer (details will be provided in the following email after submission).

d) Please ensure that the email address and phone number you provide during submission are accurate. In addition to checking the manuscript status on the website, important notifications from the editorial office will be sent via email or communicated by phone. Please keep both channels accessible.

e) All authors, whether domestic or international (including those submitting manuscripts written in English), must provide complete manuscript information in both Chinese and English, including author names, affiliations, title, abstract, and keywords.

(3) Notes for Manuscript Revision

For manuscripts that pass the final review, the journal will provide revision requests based on comments from the Editorial Board members and peer experts, which will be communicated to authors through the submission system and via email. Upon receiving the revision notice, authors should carefully revise the manuscript according to the requirements and prepare a point-by-point response to all review comments. After completing the revisions, please upload the revised manuscript (in DOC/DOCX format) and the point-by-point response file to the submission system, and also send a copy to the editorial office via email, with the subject line marked as “For Editor XX.”

(4) Steps for Uploading Revised Manuscripts in the System

a) Login: Log in to the submission system as an author.

b) View Review Comments: Click on “Manuscripts Requiring Revision” in the system. Select the relevant manuscript to view and download all review comments and the original submission. Upload the revised manuscript in this section after completing your revisions.

c) All revisions should be clearly marked within the manuscript. The point-by-point response to the review comments should be placed on the first page of the revised manuscript, or uploaded as a separate response file.

d) The revised manuscript must be complete and properly formatted. Authors may refer to the templates provided on the Download Center page, including the Clinical Research Paper Template and Annotations and the Mechanism Study Paper Template and Annotations.

e) If the revised manuscript is not submitted within two months and the author does not provide an explanation to the editorial office, the manuscript will be considered withdrawn.

(5) Notes for Accepted Manuscripts

a) Once a manuscript is deemed to meet our publication requirements after review, it will be accepted, and an acceptance notification will be sent to the authors by email. After acceptance, authors must sign a Copyright Agreement, and confirm the authenticity of the manuscript content, the absence of duplicate submission, and that all authorship information is undisputed. All authors should carefully read and complete the agreement, sign it in sequence, and have it stamped with the official seal of their affiliated institution(s). A scanned copy or photo of the signed agreement must be submitted via email. Authors are also required to provide documentation of funding support (details will be provided in the acceptance notification email).

b) After the manuscript is confirmed for publication, authors must pay the publication fee as specified in the notification. Upon publication, authors will receive a remuneration and two complimentary copies of the issue in which their article appears (details will be provided in the acceptance notification email).

c) Accepted manuscripts will be arranged for publication in sequence. The print version is typically published about one year after submission. Authors who require expedited publication may request it upon payment of an additional fee; before the print version is released, the article can be published online first.

d) Prior to print publication, the journal will send authors a proof of the article by email for proofreading and verification.