All submitted manuscripts are reviewed by the editorial staff for adequacy of documentation, composition and adherence to the guidelines of Iranian Journal of Colorectal Research(IJCR). Manuscripts not submitted in accordance with these guidelines will be returned to the author for correction before beginning the review process. IJCR follows a double-blind peer-review process which means neither the authors, nor the reviewers will get to know each side. The manuscripts that are considered suitable for review are assigned to am associate editor who is an expert in the field and is assessed initially. Then the manuscript is sent to at least two external reviewers for evaluation. The reviewers are asked to assess the originality, scientific merit, design of the study including statistical analysis, professional interest and the overall quality of the manuscript. The reviewer may recommend accept as is or with revision. All the manuscripts are also subjected to plagiarism check and verifiction of the data. It is unusual for a manuscript to be accepted without revision. Two copies of the revised manuscript are returned to the Editors-in-Chief for further processing. The final decision is made by the EIC based on the reviewers comments and the associate editor recommendation. Those manuscripts that have conflicting peer-review results, are send for third or fourth external refree. All accepted manuscripts are subject to editing for clarity, accuracy and style. Currently, the primary peer-review process for those manuscripts submitted according to the journal’s guidelines takes at least 40 days.