Twenty-five years ago, the Orthopaedic Research Society established the Journal of Orthopaedic Research to promote original investigations and disseminate important new scientific findings concerning the musculoskeletal system. The Society can take great pride in the success of the Journal and its continuing growth. However, translating advances in orthopaedic research into advances in patient care commonly requires substantial investments in the development, production, distribution, and evaluation of implants, instruments, medications, and increasingly biologically active molecules, matrices, and cells. These investments must come from commercial entities. Thus, orthopaedic surgeons and scientists must collaborate with these entities to translate their research into products that will improve patient care. At the same time, orthopaedic surgeons and scientists need to be cognizant of the potential for true or perceived conflicts of interest that could adversely affect patients and compromise the integrity of our health care system, including biomedical research and education. To help clarify the issues facing orthopaedic surgeons who work with industry, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons prepared Standards of Pro-fessionalism on Orthopaedist-Industry Conflicts of Interest. An assembly of orthopaedic journal editors and Mark Wieting, Chief Education Officer of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, wrote the following editorial to present and explain the issues related to these standards. Although many readers of the Journal of Orthopaedic Research are not practicing orthopaedic surgeons, we felt that all of us with a commitment to orthopaedic research should be aware of standards of professionalism developed by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. We also believe that, like orthopaedic surgeons, orthopaedic scientists working with industry should be aware of the potential for conflicts of interest, and that the orthopaedic research community should consider developing standards for relationships between orthopaedic scientists and commercial entities.