Disclosed is a self-tapping bone screw, in particular for use as a compression screw or a locking screw for an implant. The bone screw has screw shank, which has a front tip, a cutting region, an intermediate region, and a rear head region. In a transition region including mutually adjoining parts of the cutting region and the intermediate region, the root diameter of the screw shank in the cutting region is greater than the root diameter of the screw shank in the intermediate region, and the outside diameter of the screw shank is constant.