Written in order to analyze the report of the entry of "Imamate" in the Encyclopedia of Islam (Leiden, Netherlands), the present article scrutinizes the question that to what extent has this entry been successful in reflecting the beliefs of the Twelver Shi’ism, and to what extent do credible sources confirm the validity and authenticity of these reports? This issue can be studied in terms of structure, content and method. In the present article, the first two aspects are discussed. According to the findings, although the content of the article is often worthy of acceptance or at least can be interpreted in accordance with authentic Shiite sources, its brevity in different parts has caused a comprehensive picture of the doctrine of Imamate not to be presented. While placing the Kharijites among the Shiites and neglecting some of the sub-subjects of the Imamate is the weakness of the article, paying attention to the importance of the issue of Imamate and discussing it as an entry is its strength. Although most reports can be verified in terms of content, unspoken essentials and shortcomings should not be overlooked. Finally, data collection was done using the library method and analytical and comparative methods have been used in the reflection section.