Journal profile · Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Artificial Life
ISSN 1064-5462 · eISSN 1530-9185 · MIT Press Journals · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1994
Artificial Life: CAS Zone 4 · Computer Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.76; hybrid open access; review over 12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 15 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Artificial Life is published by MIT Press Journals and is in Zone 4 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence, Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation and Evolution and Genetic Dynamics, together about 33.9% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Artificial Life, launched in the fall of 1993, has become the unifying forum for the exchange of scientific information on the study of artificial systems that exhibit the behavioral characteristics of natural living systems, through the synthesis or simulation using computational (software), robotic (hardware), and/or physicochemical (wetware) means. Each issue features cutting-edge research on artificial life that advances the state-of-the-art of our knowledge about various aspects of living systems. The journal shapes and chronicles the development of artificial life, extending the horizons of biological research beyond life-as-we-know-it and into the domain of life-as-it-could-be.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Editor-in-chief Susan StepneyPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Modular Robots and Swarm IntelligenceEngineering12.3%
- Evolutionary Game Theory and CooperationSocial Sciences12.1%
- Evolution and Genetic DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.5%
- Evolutionary Algorithms and ApplicationsComputer Science8.8%
- Origins and Evolution of LifePhysics and Astronomy8.2%
- Gene Regulatory Network AnalysisBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.1%
- Cellular Automata and ApplicationsComputer Science6%
- Language and cultural evolutionSocial Sciences4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 1.76LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.38LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.61LetPub ·
- h-index
- 51LetPub ·
- h-index
- 91OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 525OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.4OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 22.67%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 17LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,232 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 20 | 9 | 5 |
| 2025 | 15 | 5 | 20 |
| 2024 | 45 | 27 | 87 |
| 2023 | 27 | 12 | 238 |
| 2022 | 40 | 17 | 125 |
| 2021 | 23 | 12 | 335 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
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.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use
- AI use
AI training of site content requires written permission from the MIT Press. Model summary
No content on this site may be used to train artificial intelligence systems without permission in writing from the MIT Press.
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
- MIT Press Journals
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1994
- ISSN
- 1064-5462
- Electronic ISSN
- 1530-9185
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 32, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Artificial Life
What CAS zone is Artificial Life in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Artificial Life is in Zone 4 of Computer Science, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence / Computer Science, Theory & Methods. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Computer Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Artificial Life?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.76; CiteScore 3.2, h-index 91.
How long does peer review take at Artificial Life?
Authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. 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.
Which databases index Artificial Life?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Artificial Life is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Artificial Life open access, and what is the APC?
Artificial Life is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .