Journal profile · Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition
ISSN 1000-9515 · eISSN 1755-6724 · Geological Society of China · PEOPLES R CHINA · Quarterly
Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition: CAS Zone 4 · Earth Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.83; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,140; median 159 days to acceptance (60 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 123 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition is published by Geological Society of China and is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Geological and Geochemical Analysis, Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping and earthquake and tectonic studies, together about 42.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Geophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Geological Society of China Bulletin publishes the latest and most important achievements in theoretical and basic research in geological sciences. The scope is broad, covering many areas of the geosciences and related disciplines, including stratigraphy, palaeontology, the origin and history of the Earth, structural geology, tectonics, mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, geology of mineral deposits, petroleum geology, hydrogeology, engineering geology, environmental geology and new theories and technologies of geological exploration. We welcome research from around the world. Abstracting and Indexing Information Academic Search Alumni Edition (EBSCO Publishing) Advanced Technologies & Aerospace Database (ProQuest) Agricultural & Environmental Science Database (ProQuest) CAS: Chemical Abstracts Service (ACS) Current Contents: Physical, Chemical & Earth Sciences (Clarivate Analytics) Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Database (ProQuest) INSPEC (IET) Materials Science & Engineering Database (ProQuest) Natural Science Collection (ProQuest) Science Citation Index Expanded (Clarivate Analytics) SciTech Premium Collection (ProQuest) SCOPUS (Elsevier) Technology Collection (ProQuest) Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics) Zoological Record (Clarivate Analytics) About the journal Geological Society of China Bulletin is an academic bimonthly of the Geological Society of China. It was established in 1922 and is one of the earliest scientific journals in China. Its predecessor was the Bulletin of the Geological Society of China and published papers mainly in English, with some in German and French. With one volume a year, it carried the results of geological investigations of the members of the society and papers presented in annual meetings of the society. After releasing thirty-one volumes, the journal was renamed Acta Geologica Sinica in 1952 and released papers in Chinese instead of foreign languages and was distributed in China and abroad. In March 1988, to foster international scientific exchange, Geological Society of China Bulletin resumed publication in English, translations of the papers published in the Chinese edition. Since 1997, Geological Society of China Bulletin has welcomed submissions in English and publishes original English language research. The journal aims to be at the forefront of research in the geological sciences and a champion of global scientific collaboration.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Editor-in-chief Zengqian HOUPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 99 in mainland China (about 89%); most named Mainland China 99, Canada 4, United States 2, United Kingdom 2, Austria 2 (111 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geological and Geochemical AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences19.1%
- Geochemistry and Geologic MappingComputer Science12.8%
- earthquake and tectonic studiesEarth and Planetary Sciences10.1%
- Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysisEngineering8.7%
- Geological and Geophysical StudiesEarth and Planetary Sciences6.1%
- High-pressure geophysics and materialsEarth and Planetary Sciences5.1%
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences4.4%
- Geological Studies and ExplorationEarth and Planetary Sciences4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Earth Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Earth Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Earth Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Earth Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceINSPECCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.83LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.1Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.59LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.77LetPub ·
- h-index
- 66OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,548OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.48OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 28.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 5.76%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 112LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2Publisher website ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 96Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 155,433Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,728 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 86 | 15 | 22 |
| 2025 | 123 | 44 | 168 |
| 2024 | 112 | 60 | 286 |
| 2023 | 133 | 52 | 613 |
| 2022 | 138 | 17 | 1,018 |
| 2021 | 274 | 37 | 1,631 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
159 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 112 days – 205 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 82 days (60 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 262 days
- Sample
- 60 articles with submission and acceptance dates (265 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 32%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 32%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 38 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 38 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 188 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 162 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,140 / EUR 2,630 / GBP 2,110 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare10 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 10,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Templates
- Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted3, with length limits
- original paperincluding original papers and reviews. Original papers present the latest scientific studies, normally 5,000 to 10,000 words long and within 6-12 journal pages.…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- original papersTwo types of manuscript are published in the Journal, including original papers and reviews. Original papers present the latest scientific studies, normally 5,0…Length not stated
- reviewsTwo types of manuscript are published in the Journal, including original papers and reviews. Review papers are based on literature review and summarize the curr…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, License & copyright, Open access, Preprints
- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility
Data Sharing and Data Accessibility Model summary
The journal encourages authors to share the data and other artefacts supporting the results in the paper by archiving it in an appropriate public repository. Authors should include a data accessibility statement, including a link to the repository they have used, in order that this statement can be published alongside their paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright COPYRIGHT, LICENSING AND ONLINE OPEN
Authors may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA), or under open access terms made available via Wiley’s OnlineOpen option. Note that all authors must read and agree to the conditions outlined in the specific agreement chosen, and the corresponding author must sign on their behalf.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Online Open - Wiley's Open Access Option
OnlineOpen is available to authors of articles who wish to make their article freely available to all on Wiley Online Library under a Creative Commons license. With OnlineOpen, the author, the author's funding agency, or the author's institution pays a fee to ensure that the article is made open access. Authors of OnlineOpen articles are permitted to post the final, published PDF of their article …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint policy
Preprint policy Model summary
This journal accepts submissions previously published on preprint servers.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Geological Society of China
- Country or region
- PEOPLES R CHINA
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- ISSN
- 1000-9515
- Electronic ISSN
- 1755-6724
- Society / sponsor
- Geological Society of China
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 100, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition
What CAS zone is Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition is in Zone 4 of Earth Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geosciences, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Earth Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.83; CiteScore 3.8, h-index 66.
How long does peer review take at Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition?
Based on the dates recorded on 60 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 159 days (interquartile range 112–205 days); authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 32% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: ≤ 6; Manuscript length: ≤ 10,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; Templates: Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition based?
Of the 111 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 99 (about 89%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (99), Canada (4) and United States (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, INSPEC, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition open access, and what is the APC?
Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,140.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .