The Small Arms Survey 2005: Weapons at War (Yearbook 2005) is dedicated to exploring issues surrounding armed conflict, including the sourcing of weapons to conflict areas, weapons use, conflict deaths, and post-conflict disarmament initiatives.

The Small Arms Survey 2006: Unfinished Business (Yearbook 2006) offers new and updated information on small arms production, stockpiles, transfers, and measures, including a review of the International Tracing Instrument.

The Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City (Yearbook 2007) offers new and updated information on small arms production, stockpiles, transfers, and measures, including a special focus on transfer controls.

The Small Arms Survey 2008: Risk and Resilience (Yearbook 2008) presents two thematic sections.
The first examines the problem of diversion as related to stockpiles, international transfers, and end-user documentation. It includes a case study on South Africa and a comic strip illustrating the potential ease by which someone with access to forged documentation can make arrangements to ship munitions virtually anywhere.

Adopted on 2 April 2013 by an overwhelming majority of states in the UN General Assembly, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is a milestone in the global regulation of the arms trade, but is not without its flaws. Small Arms Survey senior researchers Glenn McDonald and Sarah Parker, both participants in the treaty negotiations, discuss the development of the ATT, and the strengths and weaknesses of the final result.

Each year the Small Arms Survey yearbook presents several chapters update specific recurring themes. In the second instalment of the podcast on this year's edition, Small Arms Survey 2013: Everyday Dangers, Yearbook Coordinator Glenn McDonald introduces the chapters on international regulation of small arms, demilitarization, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The Small Arms Survey 2015: Weapons and the World explores  the theme of weapons and the environment, as well as offering case studies on a range of aspects of small arms and armed violence. In the first of this two-episode podcast, Senior Researcher Khristopher Carlson and Yearbook Coordinator Glenn McDonald discuss five of the book's chapters, covering weapons and the environment, trade in weapons, and measures to regulate and control small arms.

The Small Arms Survey 2010: Gangs, Groups, and Guns (Yearbook 2010) reviews a range of issues related to gangs and armed groups, focusing on their use of violence, as well as emerging efforts to prevent and curb the damage they inflict on society. The volume includes studies of prison gangs, girls in gangs, and pro-government groups; it also features case studies from Ecuador and Southern Sudan. Rounding out the book is original research on the global ammunition trade and on options for controlling illicit firearm transfers by air.

The Small Arms Survey 2009: Shadows of War (Yearbook 2009) contains two thematic sections.

The first highlights the challenges of ensuring security after the formal end of war and comprises an overview chapter and three case studies (Aceh, Afghanistan, and Southern Lebanon).

The second thematic section explores various aspects of small arms transfers, including the value of the authorized trade, national controls, and weapons tracing. Additional chapters focus on small arms measures and impacts.