For researchers in Computer Vision (CV) and Deep Learning, publishing in an IEEE conference is the gold standard. However, the range of difficulty varies wildly. A "Flagship" IEEE conference can make your career, while a "Regional" IEEE conference is perfect for meeting graduation requirements.
Here is the curated list of 2026 IEEE Image Processing Conferences, categorized by prestige and difficulty.
1. The "Holy Grail" (Flagship / Top-Tier)
These are the most prestigious events. Acceptance here guarantees high citations and job offers from top tech firms.
ICIP 2026 - IEEE International Conference on Image Processing
The world's largest and most comprehensive conference dedicated solely to image processing.
• Prestige: (Flagship of IEEE Signal Processing Society)
• Estimated Date: October 2026
• Submission Deadline: January / February 2026 (Upcoming!)
• Focus: Image Coding, Computational Imaging, Deep Learning for low-level vision.
• Indexing: IEEE Xplore, Ei Compendex, Scopus.
• Official Website: (Search "IEEE ICIP 2026" on Google; domain changes annually).
ICME 2026 - IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo
A top-tier venue for multimedia, bridging image processing with audio and video.
• Prestige: (CCF-B rank in China)
• Estimated Date: July 2026
• Submission Deadline: December 2025 - January 2026
• Focus: Generative AI for Media, Multimedia Standards, Virtual Reality.
• Official Website: http://www.ieee-icme.org/
2. The "Solid & Respected" (Mid-Tier)
These conferences are excellent for PhD students. They have rigorous review processes but are less "brutal" than CVPR or ICCV.
ICPR 2026 - International Conference on Pattern Recognition
Held biennially (every two years), 2026 is an ICPR year! It is the Olympics of the pattern recognition community.
• Prestige: (IAPR Flagship, technically co-sponsored by IEEE)
• Estimated Date: August/September 2026
• Submission Deadline: March/April 2026
• Focus: Pattern Recognition, Machine Learning, Biometrics.
• Official Website: (Check IAPR calendar).
IEEE MIPR 2026 - Multimedia Information Processing and Retrieval
• Focus: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for images, Deep Learning retrieval systems.
• Status: Good acceptance rate for solid technical papers.
3. The "Student-Friendly" (Entry-Level / Regional)
These are IEEE-Sponsored regional conferences. They are perfect for Master's students needing an Ei Compendex record for graduation. They focus on correctness rather than novelty.
ICCCS 2026 - IEEE Computer and Communication Systems
• Deadline: January 30, 2026 (Urgent!)
• Location: Wuhan, China (April 2026)
• Focus: Image Segmentation, Object Detection, General Deep Learning applications.
• Why Submit: Stable IEEE Xplore indexing for 10+ years. High acceptance rate (~60%).
• Official Website: http://www.icccs.org/
ICIVC 2026 - Image, Vision and Computing
• Estimated Date: May/June 2026
• Focus: Basic Computer Vision tasks (Edge Detection, Face Recognition).
• Why Submit: Designed specifically for image processing students.
• Official Website: http://www.icivc.org/
Summary: Which one should I choose?
Your Goal Recommended Conference Deadline Strategy
PhD / Job Market ICIP 2026 or ICPR 2026 Prepare for 6 months. High rejection risk.
Solid PhD Paper IEEE ICME 2026 Submit in Jan/Feb.
Master's Grad. ICCCS 2026 Submit NOW (Jan 2026). Safe & Fast.
