Institutional review board (IRB) refers to a committee at a research-oriented institution constituted to ensure that all research is conducted in an ethical manner.

Moreover, Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a board that oversees the protection of human participants in nearly every United States institution that conducts research; a group, often located at a university or other research institutions, that is responsible for reviewing research procedures to make certain that they are consistent with ethical guidelines for protecting human participants; a committee that must approve all studies before they can be started; it ensures that the procedures will not cause unacceptable harm to participants; a committee that examines all proposed research with respect to its treatment of human participants. IRB approval must be obtained prior to conducting any research with human participants.