Background: Accurate reference citation provides the reader with rapid access to the original article, as well as, indicating the scientific credibility of the authors and journal. Thus, we have decided to determine the frequency of errors in different elements of reference citation in original articles published in Iranian medical journals. Materials and methods: Using simple random sampling, some Iranian medical journals and then some original articles were selected. The original text of references, cited in the article, were retrieved via MEDLINE. Comparing the original reference with that cited in the article had revealed errors in different elements of references. Then, they have been classified in major and minor errors in accordance with the last version of Uniform Requirement for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. SPSS software package was used for data analysis. Results: A total of76% of the references had errors. Major and minor errors were detected in 42 and 69 percent of the references, respectively. Errors in author element, article title, journal title, publication year, volume number, pages element, and punctuation were seen in 54, 38, 20, 2,6, 10, and 33 percent of the references, respectively. Conclusion: A marked difference was seen between our findings and similar studies in other countries. Differences between the native and scientific languages, inaccessibility to the original text of references, and authors unawareness of importance of accurate reference citation are considered as possible contributing factors. Authors and editorial board of medical journals are recommended to take the responsibility of accurate reference citation, however, the primary task should be toward the authors. Asking the authors to attach the first page of the article cited in the reference section would lead to easier and less time-consuming checking process of the references.