The generation of whistlers in the ionosphere due to the nonlinear coalescence of ion-acoustic waves is analyzed by means of the weak turbulence approach. The ion-acoustic turbulence is supposed to be driven by field-aligned currents or/and the nonlinear coupling of Langmuir waves generated in an unstable beam-plasma system. The spectral power of whistlers radiated by the ion-acoustic turbulence is evaluated with special regard to small-scale auroral events, artificial injections of an electron beam, and the tethered satellite system. In particular, this mechanism of whistler radiation can contribute to the low-frequency part of the auroral hiss. ¿American Institute of Physics 1995