Abstract: Objective To investigate the present status and problems in authorship in original articles published in medical journals. Methods A total of 9 429 authors of 3 156 original articles were selected from the following 6 journals: "Chinese Journal of Coal Industry Medicine", "Journal of Capital Medical University", "China Journal of Health Psychology", "Clinical Medicine of China", "Clinical Education of General Practice" and "Chinese Journal of Hospital Statistics" in 2010 were studied. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 2 468 authors of 988 papers each of which had more than 4 authors. Results The number of authors listed in each paper ranged from 1 to 16, and the average was 3. The number of grant at or above the provincial level was 1 030, of which 865 were signed, accounting for 84%; articles that had more than 4 authors had totally 2 468 authors, of whom only 1 086(44%) met the criteria of authorship; 475(89%) of the 532 first authors met the criteria of authorship; of the 43 corresponding authors, 38(88%) had author qualification. Conclusion Many of the authors of original articles published in the studied medical journals do not have clear awareness of "Copyright Law" and Academic Moral Ethics. Authors were indifferent to signature, unacquainted with concepts such as author, authorship and criteria for authorship.

Key words: medical journal, signature, copyright, authorship, academic moral ethics, signature functional alienation, author order, coauthored paper