What matters most when the next cure is waiting to be discovered?
Embase® — The biomedical research database now available with AI search
Embase is the biomedical database for systematic reviews, drug safety monitoring and evidence-based research and practice. Regulators and researchers worldwide rely on Embase for biomedical literature that is comprehensive and current.
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Why is Embase essential for systematic reviews?
Embase supports rigorous systematic reviews with Embase AI and intuitive search tools on top of deeply indexed journals and comprehensive content. Embase is an abstract and indexing database specializing in medicine and biomedical science. Embase content includes records from journal articles, clinical trials, conference abstracts, conference papers, conference reviews, data papers, editorial, erratum, letters, notes, reviews and short surveys. AI-based search, guided PICO search forms and advanced queries help Embase users gain the critical insights needed to confidently evaluate existing evidence and publish original research.
How does Embase support adverse drug events reporting?
Embase helps surface adverse drug events quickly with pharmacovigilance (PV) search tools on top of comprehensive biomedical content updated daily with 8,000 new records. Regulatory bodies recognize Embase as a source for discovering adverse events in post-market surveillance. A PV search form and tools to track drug-disease relations and drug-drug interactions support high-recall, high-precision drug safety monitoring. Don’t miss important information — set email alerts in Embase about drugs or other areas of interest to receive individual or group notifications.
How does Embase help with medical device regulation compliance?
Embase helps medical device companies comply with medical device regulations with medical device search tools on top of comprehensive medical device content. Embase creates detailed medical device records by indexing medical devices and relevant metadata, including medical device manufacturers, concepts and procedures, device trade names and GMDN. The medical device search form in Embase has preset terms, making it easy to create precise and high-recall queries for clinical evaluations, post-market surveillance and systematic reviews. Discover, innovate and develop with confidence using Embase.
How does Emtree indexing in Embase improve search precision?
Emtree — the Embase life sciences thesaurus — connects and surfaces related biomedical terms to deliver precise, thorough search results. Emtree has a rich controlled vocabulary of terms, synonyms, trade names and drug, disease and medical device subheadings to describe biomedical concepts consistently. Emtree maps biomedical synonyms and relationships in a robust taxonomy, so researchers can find relevant studies and avoid noise and bias. Learn more about Emtree.
Connected, configurable solutions to innovate in R&D
Advance your R&D with Elsevier’s Embase and a portfolio of solutions for pharmaceutical and medical device R&D. Innovate with confidence, supported by:
Trusted quality information from peer-reviewed scientific literature to regulatory data
Innovative technology that powers data transformation, and analytical and predictive tools
Domain and data science expertise to solve complex problems with data solutions for R&D
Information integrity is essential to your progress. Discover trusted data and tools that deliver critical insights. (Learn more about responsible AI and data privacy in Elsevier AI tools.) Let's shape progress together.
What are the key features of Embase
Millions of records updated daily
Millions of records updated daily
Embase has unparalleled coverage of the biomedical literature, including conference abstracts, clinical trials and information not available in MEDLINE.
Full-text indexing with the Emtree thesaurus
Full-text indexing with the Emtree thesaurus
Select terms from Emtree and transfer them to a search strategy with one click. View synonyms, meaning and all instances of a term.
Search wizards and templates
Search wizards and templates
Embase helps you easily construct an evidence-driven search by adding terms and synonyms from Emtree with a single click.
Advanced search
Advanced search
Construct an advanced search with multiple query options in Embase and automatically convert your PubMed searches into Embase search syntax.
Alerts, download and search history tools
Alerts, download and search history tools
Embase provides multiple data export formats, so you can analyze results in a preferred tool. Set alerts to make sure you miss nothing.
Historical records from 1947 to 1973 with Embase Classic
Historical records from 1947 to 1973 with Embase Classic
Embase Classic is a backfile of content, robustly indexed with Emtree, so you can expand discovery and extract additional insights.
What access options are available for Embase?
Annual subscription
Unlimited access for organizations
For government, institutions, corporate agencies, contract research organizations and consultancies
30-Day access
One user gets 30-day access to Embase.com (limited to four per year). Includes five email alerts.
For individuals, small and medium size businesses. Excludes contract research organizations and consultancies.
7-Day access
One user gets seven-day access to Embase.com (limited to four per year).
For individuals, small and medium size businesses. Excludes contract research organizations and consultancies.
Performing a systematic search of peer-reviewed and gray literature using Embase is generally accepted as a best practice for evidence-based medicine.
George R. Khachatryan
RosMedEx
Frequently asked questions
Embase includes 99% of MEDLINE1 journals plus over 3,000 additional titles. Unlike MEDLINE, Embase covers conferences — more than 16,000 — providing earlier access to emerging biomedical research.
Embase indexes content more deeply than MEDLINE. The Embase life science thesaurus Emtree has more than 100,000 preferred terms (including MeSH terms) and 550,000 synonyms, compared with approximately 30,000 preferred terms in MeSH.
Deeper, granular indexing for medical devices and drugs in Embase helps researchers find the right evidence faster.
1. MEDLINE is a bibliographic database from the US National Library of Medicine and is the largest component of PubMed. MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) is the thesaurus used for indexing articles for PubMed. Source: National Library of Medicine website, accessed Nov. 18, 2025
Embase is recommended and/or referenced by competent authorities in the US, European Union, UK, Brazil, Australia, Canada and other nations.
Guidelines, best practices and agencies that recommend or reference Embase include:
EMA - Guideline on Good Pharmacovigilance Practices (GVP)
European Union Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR)
Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, Version 6.2
WHO Handbook for Guideline Development
UK's NICE Interim Clinical Guideline Surveillance Process and Methods Guide
JBI Manuals for Evidence Synthesis and Evidence Implementation
Brazilian Ministry of Health
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Australia for Pharmacovigilance
European Network for Health Technology Assessment
Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA-AMC)
Embase provides deep biomedical evidence for regulatory compliance requiring comprehensive and current literature surveillance. Embase covers 99% of MEDLINE journals and 3,000+ more, with extensive European coverage. Conference abstracts and gray literature in Embase reveal new safety or performance data not available yet in peer-reviewed publications. Regulators expect transparent, documented literature review processes, which Embase supports through guided search forms, advanced filtering and exportable search histories. These features help users produce audit-ready documentation for submissions, inspections, and pharmacovigilance reports.
Explore an Embase subscription for your organization
