Carbohydrate Polymers covers the study and exploitation of polymers of monosaccharides which have current or potential application in areas such as bioenergy, bioplastics, biomaterials, nanotechnology, biorefining, drug delivery, food, chemistry, packaging , paper, pharmaceuticals, medicine, oil recovery, textiles and wood.

The role of the well-characterized carbohydrate polymer must be the major proportion of the work reported, not peripheral. At least one named carbohydrate polymer must be cited and be the main focus of the title of the paper, and of the paper itself. Research must be innovative and advance scientific knowledge.
Where a polysaccharide is obtained from a supplier, essential structural information which will affect its behavior in the subsequent work should be given. For example, molecular size/viscosity information, mannuronate/glucoronate ration for alginates, degree of esterification for pectin, degree of deacetylation for chitosan. Editors are unlikely to send papers for formal review with a statement such as "sodium alginate was purchased from XXX Inc." unless additional information is supplied. To be acceptable, the paper must include some characterization of the polysaccharide (if not already known) in addition to the application studied. Purity and monosaccharide composition are essential; some molecular size and linkage information is highly desirable.