Journal profile · ORTHOPEDICS
Asian Spine Journal
ISSN 1976-1902 · eISSN 1976-7846 · Korean Spine Society · Korea, Republic of
Asian Spine Journal: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.7 (journal website); diamond open access (no APC); no APC; median 78 days to acceptance (83 articles, last 24 months); 177 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus; the journal's website says it has moved to a new publisher.
The journal's website says it has moved to a new publisher: ASJ provides the electronic backup and preservation of access to the journal content in the event that the journal is no longer published by archiving in PMC and the National Library of Korea. Source ↗Publisher website ·
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Asian Spine Journal is published by Korean Spine Society and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology, Spinal Fractures and Fixation Techniques and Cervical and Thoracic Myelopathy, together about 54.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Surgery. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Asian Spine Journal (Asian Spine J), the official journal of the Asia Pacific Spine Society (APSS), Middle East Spine Society (MESS), Association of Spine Surgeons of India (ASSI), Taiwan Spine Society (TWSS), Chinese Spine Society of Medicine Education (CSSME), and Korean Society of Spine Surgery (KSSS), is an international peerreviewed journal which publishes articles related to basic and clinical researches of all spine fields bimonthly in end of February, April, June, August, October, and December. Asian Spine Journal was founded in 2007. The journal aims to promote communications among spine surgeons especially in Asian countries regarding spine problems and to provide Asian spine surgeons more opportunities to publish their works in international journal. All manuscripts should be creative, informative and useful for the diagnosis and treatment of spine problems. Manuscripts regarding disease and treatment which shows more characteristic features in Asian people would be preferable. Every researcher who has interested in the aims and scope of Asian Spine Journal is encouraged to submit the papers from all over the world.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ORTHOPEDICS
Editor-in-chief Hak-Sun KimPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 7 in mainland China (about 5%); most named South Korea 70, India 18, Japan 10, Mainland China 7, United States 6 (140 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Spine and Intervertebral Disc PathologyMedicine23.4%
- Spinal Fractures and Fixation TechniquesMedicine15.8%
- Cervical and Thoracic MyelopathyMedicine15%
- Scoliosis diagnosis and treatmentMedicine13.5%
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine4.8%
- Infectious Diseases and TuberculosisMedicine2.7%
- Bone health and osteoporosis researchMedicine2.5%
- Spinal Hematomas and ComplicationsMedicine2.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PMCPublisher website
Other: National Library of Korea
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 (publisher)
- 2.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.24LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.68LetPub ·
- h-index
- 69OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 937OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.38OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 93.53%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 133LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,009 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 128 | 128 | 28 |
| 2025 | 177 | 177 | 404 |
| 2024 | 103 | 103 | 541 |
| 2023 | 108 | 108 | 899 |
| 2022 | 80 | 80 | 1,177 |
| 2021 | 79 | 79 | 999 |
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
78 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 40 days – 115 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 148 days (83 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 250 days
- Sample
- 83 articles with submission and acceptance dates (340 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)
- about 24 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 24 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Unspecified peer reviewDOAJ
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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY-NC | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Other fees
- No other fees
- Page charges
- No page charges
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
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 prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 300 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 3,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Templates
- Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted10, with length limits
- case reportCase ReportLength not stated
- editorialThe Editorial Board will continuously work for monitoring/safeguarding publication ethics: provision of guidelines for retracting articles; maintenance of the i…Length not stated
- letter to the editorLetter to the EditorLength not stated
- letters to the editor3-4. Letters to the EditorLength not stated
- original article3-1. Original Articles • Manuscripts should not exceed 3,000 words, including structured abstract, text, and figure legends, but not including title page, refer…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- original articles3-1. Original ArticlesLength not stated
- review articleReview ArticleLength not stated
- review articles3-2. Review ArticlesLength not stated
- technical notesupplementary material for review. 3-3. Technical Notes • Technical notes should be no longer than 1,500 words, including the unstructured abstract, text, and f…main text ≤ 1,500 words
- technical notes3-3. Technical NotesLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Data availability, Open access, Peer review, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use AI usage guideline for authors
The Asian Spine Journal permits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the preparation of manuscripts, including the generation of text or images. However, authors must fully disclose any use of AI tools and are entirely responsible for the content, accuracy, and integrity of their submissions. The use of AI does not alter the authorship responsibilities, and any AI-generated content mus…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship (8) Author contributions
• Role of each author should be declared in accordance with the CRediT Taxonomy initiative (https://credit.niso.org). 3-2. Review Articles • Both narrative and systematic review articles are covered in this category. Manuscripts should not exceed 4,000 words, including the abstract, text (Introduction, body text, Conclusions), and figure legends, but not including title page, references, and table…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing Statement
ASJ accepts the ICMJE Recommendations for data sharing statement policy [1]. Authors may refer to the editorial “Data Sharing statements for Clinical Trials: A Requirement of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors” in Journal of Korean Medical Science [2]. [1] http://icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf [2] https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2017.32.7.1051 Statement of Informed Consent an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access COPYRIGHTS, OPEN ACCESS, OPEN DATA, ARCHIVING, AND DEPOSIT POLICY
Open Access Policy Model summary
Copyrights Copyrights of all published materials are owned by the KSSS. All authors must sign the Transfer of Copyright Agreement when they submit their manuscript. This form is available at our website on the submission page, and authors must click the form online in “Accept the Copyright Transfer Agreement” (Main Menu > Author Center > New Submissions > Submit New Manuscript). Materials appearin…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review PEER REVIEW PROCESS
Manuscripts are sent to two editorial members and one outside reviewer. The Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision regarding acceptance of a peer-reviewed paper. The average time between receipt of a submitted manuscript and the decision regarding its publication is 6 weeks, but it can be longer. Appeals of Decisions Any appeal against an editorial decision must be made within 2 weeks of the…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines 2. Reporting Guidelines for Specific Study Designs
• For specific study designs, such as randomized control studies, studies of diagnostic accuracy, meta-analyses, observational studies, and nonrandomized studies, authors are encouraged to consult the reporting guidelines relevant to their specific research design. • A good source of reporting guidelines is the EQUATOR Network (https://www.equator-network.org/) and the NLM (https://www.nlm.nih.gov…
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
- Korean Spine Society
- Country or region
- Korea, Republic of
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1976-1902
- Electronic ISSN
- 1976-7846
- Society / sponsor
- Asia Pacific Spine Society
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 20 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Asian Spine Journal
What CAS zone is Asian Spine Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Asian Spine Journal is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Orthopedics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Asian Spine Journal?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.7; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5.9, h-index 69.
How long does peer review take at Asian Spine Journal?
Based on the dates recorded on 83 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 78 days (interquartile range 40–115 days); authors report an average review time of about 24 weeks. 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 Asian Spine Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Keywords: ≤ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 3,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Templates: Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Graphical abstract: Optional; 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 Asian Spine Journal based?
Of the 140 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 7 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Korea (70), India (18) and Japan (10). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Asian Spine Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Asian Spine Journal is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists PMC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Asian Spine Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Asian Spine Journal is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .