17 Best MATLAB Books
The best MATLAB books, ranked by how many expert sources recommend each one, with guidance for beginners, engineering students and scientific researchers.
Our take
MATLAB books can teach you to program, help you solve engineering problems, or explain the numerical methods behind a calculation. Those are related goals, but they call for different starting points. A first programming course should make arrays, functions and debugging familiar before asking you to model a complicated system.
MATLAB: A Practical Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving and MATLAB: An Introduction with Applications build basic skills through worked problems. Getting Started with MATLAB offers a shorter route into the environment, while MATLAB Programming for Engineers puts more emphasis on writing organized code. Readers with a particular application can turn to MATLAB for Brain and Cognitive Scientists or Beginning MATLAB and Simulink. Numerical-methods books go further into approximation and the mathematics that makes a computed answer useful.
Choose an introductory book if functions and arrays still feel unfamiliar. Once you can write small programs, move toward the problems you actually need to solve.
17 books · 9 sources · Last updated
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How to choose from this list
Skip to the full rankingIf you're learning to program: MATLAB: A Practical Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving
If you want a shorter introduction: Getting Started with MATLAB → A Guide to MATLAB
If you want engineering programming practice: MATLAB for Engineers → MATLAB Programming for Engineers
If you need numerical methods: Applied Numerical Methods with MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists → Numerical Computing with MATLAB
If you're doing neuroscience research: MATLAB for Brain and Cognitive Scientists
If you want simulation models: Beginning MATLAB and Simulink
The 17 books, ranked
Ranked by how many expert sources name each book. Ties go to the book more people recommend.
A Guide to MATLAB: For Beginners and Experienced Users
For readers who want an introduction they can also consult while working. It combines essential commands with programming and mathematical applications, though the broad guide format offers less sustained practice than an exercise-led textbook.
What it's about
Brian Hunt, Ronald Lipsman and Jonathan Rosenberg introduce MATLAB commands, graphics, programming and mathematical applications. The guide combines explanations with examples and practice problems, helping readers use the software for calculations, visualization and computational projects.
Essential MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists
For science and engineering students who want programming tied to computational problems. It balances basic language skills with algorithms and numerical applications, though its broad coverage gives each specialist topic less space than a dedicated text.
What it's about
Daniel Valentine and Brian Hahn introduce MATLAB's basic tools alongside program design and algorithm development. Scientific and engineering examples connect functions, arrays, loops, graphics, simulation, and numerical methods with the practical tasks encountered in an introductory computing course.
For complete beginners who want to learn programming as well as MATLAB commands. Its paired treatment of custom code and built-in functions explains different ways to solve problems, though the textbook format requires regular practice.
What it's about
Stormy Attaway teaches programming concepts alongside MATLAB's built-in functions. Starting with variables and assignments, the book develops selection statements, loops, and other techniques, applying both custom programs and existing computational tools to engineering problem solving.
MATLAB For Dummies
For beginners who want help navigating the environment and completing common tasks. Its walkthroughs make the interface less intimidating, though the reference-style coverage is less systematic than a course built around exercises.
What it's about
Jim Sizemore and John Paul Mueller introduce MATLAB's interface, language, and computational tools. Illustrated walkthroughs move from creating files to debugging, symbolic mathematics, data transfer, live scripts, classes, and applications, offering beginners a route through increasingly complex tasks.
For scientists and engineers who need a compact introduction before using MATLAB in another course. Its guided examples provide a quicker entry than the full textbooks, though complex programming and numerical theory receive less development.
What it's about
Rudra Pratap introduces MATLAB's computing and visualization environment through guided explanations and examples. Applications cover algebraic equations, data analysis, regression, and differential equations, with additional material on symbolic computation for scientists and engineers beginning to use the software.
For students with little programming experience who learn from worked mathematical examples. The gradual introduction keeps commands tied to applications, though readers aiming for larger software projects will eventually need more programming depth.
What it's about
Amos Gilat introduces MATLAB gradually for students with little or no programming experience. Worked problems drawn from mathematics, science, and engineering demonstrate commands as they become useful, while additional coverage introduces symbolic mathematics and practical computational applications.
For readers who need a patient introduction to mathematical computing. Its gradual work with numbers, vectors and matrices makes basic operations approachable, though it is less suitable for learning software design or advanced programming techniques.
What it's about
Peter Kattan introduces MATLAB through arithmetic, variables, complex numbers, vectors, and matrices. Explanations, application examples, and exercises develop basic technical computing skills, with symbolic mathematics used alongside numerical operations to explore mathematical problems suitable for beginners.
MATLAB for Engineers
For engineering students comfortable with algebra and trigonometry. Its consistent problem-solving approach connects MATLAB with familiar coursework, though the engineering emphasis offers less direct guidance for readers working in business or the humanities.
What it's about
Holly Moore introduces MATLAB through engineering problems that begin with algebra and trigonometry. Examples from chemistry, physics, and early engineering courses follow a consistent solving method, while later sections introduce statistics, matrices, calculus, and differential equations.
Numerical Computing with MATLAB
For readers who want to understand the algorithms behind numerical results. Its compact programs invite experimentation with the methods themselves, though the mathematical focus makes it a demanding first encounter with MATLAB.
What it's about
Cleve Moler introduces numerical computing through MATLAB programs and exercises. Topics include linear equations, interpolation, root finding, least squares, numerical integration, differential equations, random numbers and eigenvalues, linking mathematical ideas with executable implementations.
An Engineer's Introduction to Programming with MATLAB 2019
For engineering beginners who want step-by-step programming lessons within a specific MATLAB environment. Its progression makes fundamental skills easier to practice, though interface details follow the 2019 release and may differ from your installation.
What it's about
Shawna Lockhart and Eric Tilleson teach programming fundamentals using MATLAB's 2019 environment. Beginning with variables and operators, lessons develop arrays, loops, functions, debugging, data handling, visualization, and curve fitting through examples aimed at engineering students without programming experience.
For learners who want to compare written programs with block-based simulation. Its parallel MATLAB and Simulink examples support modeling work, though the wide scope and substantial case studies require more time than a short introduction.
What it's about
Sulaymon Eshkabilov teaches programming and modeling through parallel examples in MATLAB and Simulink. Worked problems and simulation models cover visualization, interfaces, numerical methods, and differential equations, giving engineers and scientific computing students practical templates to study and adapt.
MATLAB for Brain and Cognitive Scientists
For psychology and neuroscience researchers who want examples close to their own work. It connects programming habits with scientific practice more directly than the general engineering introductions, though readers in other fields may prefer broader applications.
What it's about
Mike Cohen teaches MATLAB programming through applications familiar to neuroscience and psychology researchers. The book progresses from beginner concepts to intermediate and advanced techniques, combining explanations of code with practical programming advice for work in brain and cognitive science.
MATLAB Programming for Engineers
For engineers who want to write clear programs rather than rely on isolated commands. Its attention to program structure and documentation supports larger assignments, though it asks for more coding practice than a quick software introduction.
What it's about
Stephen Chapman teaches MATLAB as a technical programming language, emphasizing clear, efficient, documented code. Engineering problems develop programming and problem-solving skills before more advanced sections examine input and output, object-oriented techniques, and graphical interfaces for practical applications.
Numerical Methods for Engineers and Scientists Using MATLAB
For engineers and scientists who want numerical techniques presented with MATLAB implementations. It keeps methods tied to applied calculations, though readers need mathematical preparation and should learn basic programming before tackling the fuller treatments.
What it's about
Ramin Esfandiari explains numerical methods for scientific and engineering problems using MATLAB. Worked examples connect mathematical procedures with computation, covering equations, linear systems, interpolation, numerical calculus and differential equations while examining practical implementation.
For students who know some MATLAB and need to understand numerical approximation. It connects methods with engineering problems and error analysis, though it works better alongside a mathematics course than as a first programming manual.
What it's about
Steven Chapra introduces numerical methods through engineering and scientific problems implemented in MATLAB. Topics include error analysis, equation solving, optimization, linear systems, curve fitting, and numerical calculus, connecting computational procedures with the mathematical problems they are designed to approximate.
MATLAB for Engineering Applications
For engineering students who want programming, modeling and computation in one course. Its broad problem-solving coverage makes a useful working reference, though readers focused on one numerical method will need a more specialized explanation.
What it's about
William Palm introduces MATLAB as an engineering problem-solving tool and reference. Lessons develop programming, plotting, model building, numerical methods, and symbolic processing, with an introduction to Simulink showing another way to represent and simulate engineering systems.
Programming and Engineering Computing with MATLAB 2022
For beginners who learn by inspecting working code. Line-by-line explanations make engineering examples easier to adapt, though the release-specific presentation needs checking against current interfaces and is less suited to readers seeking a concise reference.
What it's about
Huei-Huang Lee teaches MATLAB through case studies and programs explained line by line. Beginners first use commands to tackle engineering problems, then examine how the code works, progressing toward more complex computation and the design of graphical interfaces.
Sources
- 1
7 Best Matlab Books for Beginners & Advanced Programmers
programmingcube.com
- 2
Matlab Books
goodreads.com
- 3
Books - MATLAB Programming
matlabcoding.com
- 4
Curriculum Structure and Syllabus of SY B. Tech. E&TC
entc.pccoepune.com
- 5
10 Matlab Books For Beginners & Advanced Programmers
statanalytica.com
- 6
87 Best MATLAB Books of All Time
shortform.com
- 7
Best Matlab for beginners book?
reddit.com
- 8
Matlab books
educba.com
- 9
The Best 14 MATLAB Books
blinkist.com
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shape MRB and its growth.
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