IUPAC nomenclature is a set of recommendations for naming chemical compounds and for describing chemistry and biochemistry in general. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is the international authority on chemical nomenclature and terminology.

IUPAC states that, "As one of its major activities, IUPAC develops Recommendations to establish unambiguous, uniform, and consistent nomenclature and terminology for specific scientific fields, usually presented as: glossaries of terms for specific chemical disciplines; definitions of terms relating to a group of properties; nomenclature of chemical compounds and their classes; terminology, symbols, and units in a specific field; classifications and uses of terms in a specific field; and conventions and standards of practice for presenting data in a specific field."^[1] Recommendations are published in IUPAC's journal, Pure and Applied Chemistry (PAC), the publicly available IUPAC Standards Online database, IUPAC Color Books, and other publications. PAC journal issues are freely available the year following publication.^[1]

The two IUPAC bodies that lead nomenclature and terminology efforts are Division VIII – Chemical Nomenclature and Structure Representation and the Interdivisional Committee on Terminology, Nomenclature, and Symbols.^[1]

"Well being" of standardizing science by the nomenclature of scientific terms, measurements, and symbols was one of the primary reasons as to the founding of the organization. Before the creation of IUPAC, many other nomenclatures were proposed. The Geneva Nomenclature of 1892 was created as a result of many other meetings in the past, the first of which was established in 1860 by August Kekulé. Another entity called the International Association of Chemical Societies (IACS) existed, and on 1911, gave vital propositions the new one should address:^[2]

• Nomenclature of inorganic and organic chemistry;
• Standardization of atomic weights;
• Standardization of physical constants;
• Editing tables of properties of matter;
• Establishing a commission for the review of work;
• Standardization of the formats of publications;
• Measures required to prevent repetition of the same papers.

In 1919, a group of chemists created the IUPAC with this idea, as well as the purpose of unionizing scientists and strengthening the international trade of science. IUPAC celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019 and continues to regulate scientific terminology today.^[2]

• International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
• Preferred IUPAC name
• IUPAC books
• Chemical nomenclature

• IUPAC.org
• IUPAC Standards Online