The first issue of World Journal of Rheumatology(WJR),whose preparatory work was initiated on December 16,2010,will be published on December 31,2011.The WJR Editorial Board has now been established and consists of 116 distinguished experts from 29 countries.Our purpose of launching WJR is to publish peer-reviewed,high-quality articles via an open-access online publishing model,thereby acting as a platform for communication between peers and the wider public,and maximizing the benefits to editorial board members,authors and readers.