PRISMA flow diagram guides
Updated 2026-10-27
Practical guides to understanding, drawing and reporting a PRISMA 2020 flow diagram, written for students, researchers and reviewers who want the diagram right the first time.
Each guide answers one question in depth and links to the others where the topics meet. If you're not sure where to begin, use the table below.
Where to start
| Your situation | Read first | Then |
|---|---|---|
| You've never made a PRISMA diagram | What is a PRISMA flow diagram? | How to make one |
| You have your counts and are writing up now | Choose a template | Check against the worked examples |
| A peer reviewer says your numbers don't add up | Common mistakes | Spot-the-error exercise |
| You're doing a scoping review | Scoping review guide | Systematic review guide (most counts are shared) |
| You're updating an earlier review | Updated review guide | Updated-review templates |
| Your old diagram uses the 2009 layout | 2020 vs 2009 | How to make one |
| Your journal wants a Word figure, or you're choosing a tool | Word template guide | Compare the options |
The basics
- What is a PRISMA flow diagram?What the diagram shows, why systematic reviews need it, where it goes in your paper, and how PRISMA 2020 differs from 2009, box by box.
- How to make a PRISMA flow diagramFive steps from template to export, the ten mistakes peer reviewers find most often, and a checklist to run before you submit.
Templates, examples and tools
- PRISMA flow diagram template (PRISMA 2020)All four official versions for new and updated reviews, with databases, registers and other methods, and how to choose one.
- PRISMA flow diagram examplesFour worked examples with every subtraction shown, a results paragraph you can adapt, and a spot-the-error exercise.
- PRISMA flowchart template for WordGenerate the PRISMA 2020 diagram online, then insert it into Word as an image or editable shapes.
- PRISMA flow diagram generator optionsAn honest comparison of this generator, the PRISMA2020 R package, screening platforms, Word templates and AI tools.
By review type
- PRISMA flow diagram for a systematic reviewSearch results, duplicates, screening, full-text exclusions and included studies, with tips for peer review.
- PRISMA flow diagram for a scoping reviewPRISMA-ScR requirements, "sources of evidence" wording and how to adapt the PRISMA 2020 template.
- PRISMA flow diagram for an updated reviewPrevious studies, the new search, and new and total included studies, with a worked example.
Key terms in one place
Most errors in PRISMA diagrams come from mixing up a few terms. PRISMA 2020 defines them as follows:
- Record: the title or abstract (or both) of a report, as indexed in a database or on a website. Search results are records.
- Report: a document that gives information about a study, such as a journal article, conference abstract, thesis, preprint or trial register entry with results. You retrieve and read reports in full.
- Study: an investigation, such as a trial, that may be described in several reports. Your final box counts both studies and reports.
- Duplicate: the same record found in more than one source, or more than once in one source. Duplicates are removed before screening.
- Automation tools: software that removes or flags records before people screen them, such as a machine-learning classifier. Records it marks as ineligible have their own box.
- Registers: trial and study registers such as ClinicalTrials.gov or the WHO ICTRP. Count them separately from bibliographic databases.
- Other methods: sources outside database and register searches, such as websites, organisations, citation searching and contacting authors. They have their own column.
- Reports not retrieved: reports you looked for but couldn't obtain in full. Report the count even when it's zero.
Before you submit
Run through the pre-submission checklist, then test yourself on the spot-the-error exercise. Most queries from peer reviewers are about one of the ten common mistakes.
How these guides are written
The guides are written and maintained by Biswajeeban Mishra, who builds the generator on this site. They are based on the primary PRISMA sources:
- Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 2021;372:n71. doi:10.1136/bmj.n71
- Page MJ, Moher D, Bossuyt PM, et al. PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 2021;372:n160. doi:10.1136/bmj.n160
- Tricco AC, Lillie E, Zarin W, et al. PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): checklist and explanation. Annals of Internal Medicine 2018;169(7):467–473.
Worked examples use illustrative numbers, not data from real reviews. Each guide shows the date it was last updated. If you find an error or something unclear, please get in touch and the guide will be corrected. This site is independent and isn't affiliated with the PRISMA or EQUATOR Network groups. For official guidance, see prisma-statement.org.