Journal profile · Medical Ethics
Bioethics
ISSN 0269-9702 · eISSN 1467-8519 · Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd · ENGLAND · Quarterly · Founded 1987
Bioethics: CAS Zone 3 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.22; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,550; median 246 days to acceptance (87 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 154 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Bioethics is published by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd and is in Zone 3 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ethics in medical practice, Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare and Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations, together about 42% of its articles. Its main subfields are Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Bioethics is a journal that publishes content tackling the ethics of the most pressing issues in the biomedical and life-sciences, ranging from the use of AI in health care to organ transplants, ageing, and stem cell research. Bioethics offers researchers cutting edge analyses of real-life ethical, legal and policy problems, as well as of the fundamental concepts, principles and theories that influence these issues Bioethics also features regular Background Briefings on important current debates in the field. These feature articles provide excellent material for bioethics scholars, teachers and students alike. FREE as part of your subscription to Bioethics is Developing World Bioethics - click here for further information! For information about Wiley Publication Ethics, click here. Keywords bioethics, ethics, biology, genetics, clinical, research, philosophy, medicine, medical, legal, law, policy, legislation, abortion, euthanasia, AIDS, genetic, engineering, embryo, research, journal, analysis, periodical, article, reviews, book Abstracting and Indexing Information Academic Search (EBSCO Publishing) Academic Search Alumni Edition (EBSCO Publishing) Academic Search Elite (EBSCO Publishing) Academic Search Premier (EBSCO Publishing) Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Clarivate Analytics) Biological Science Database (ProQuest) CINAHL: Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (EBSCO Publishing) Current Contents: Social & Behavioral Sciences (Clarivate Analytics) Embase (Elsevier) ERA: Educational Research Abstracts Online (T&F) Expanded Academic ASAP (GALE Cengage) General Science Index/Abstracts (EBSCO Publishing) Health & Medical Collection (ProQuest) Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest) Health Source Nursing/Academic (EBSCO Publishing) Hospital Premium Collection (ProQuest) IBR & IBZ: International Bibliographies of Periodical Literature (KG Saur) InfoTrac (GALE Cengage) Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition (Clarivate Analytics) Journal Citation Reports/Social Science Edition (Clarivate Analytics) Natural Science Collection (ProQuest) OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition (HW Wilson) Periodical Index Online (ProQuest) Philosopher's Index (Philosopher's Information Center) Philosophy Research Index (PDC) PhilPapers Proquest Business Collection (ProQuest) ProQuest Central (ProQuest) ProQuest Central K-73 ProQuest Politics Collection (ProQuest) ProQuest Sociology Collection (ProQuest) PsycINFO/Psychological Abstracts (APA) Research Library
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medical Ethics
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 2%); most named United States 13, United Kingdom 12, Canada 3, Netherlands 3, Australia 2 (48 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ethics in medical practiceHealth Professions24.7%
- Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric HealthcareMedicine10%
- Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical InnovationsNeuroscience7.4%
- Reproductive Health and TechnologiesMedicine6.8%
- Ethics in Clinical ResearchMedicine6.6%
- Patient Dignity and PrivacyMedicine6.4%
- Biomedical Ethics and RegulationMedicine6.3%
- Palliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesMedicine4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
AHCIEmbasePsycINFOCINAHLCurrent 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
- 2.22LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.86LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.36LetPub ·
- h-index
- 47LetPub ·
- h-index
- 94OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,275OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.55OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 66.78%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 103LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 126Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 475,529Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,066 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 152 | 74 | 27 |
| 2025 | 154 | 108 | 225 |
| 2024 | 209 | 108 | 546 |
| 2023 | 214 | 112 | 905 |
| 2022 | 144 | 74 | 1,206 |
| 2021 | 164 | 80 | 2,087 |
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
246 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 118 days – 337 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 26 days (91 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 289 days
- Sample
- 87 articles with submission and acceptance dates (288 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)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 27%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 61 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 257 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 30 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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 4,550 / EUR 3,810 / GBP 3,020 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 5–6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Cover letter
- Required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Peer review
- AI use 10. DISCLOSING THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
If you or your co-authors have used Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) tools such as ChatGPT and others based on large language models (LLMs) to develop any portion of a manuscript, their use must be described transparently and in detail in the Methods section. Find more details in Wiley’s AI policy in full in the Best Practices Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship
Word limit of 8,000 words normally enforced Model summary
Papers exceeding 8,000 words will not normally be considered.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Conflict of interest statement required during submission Model summary
Authors will be asked to provide a conflict of interest statement during the submission process.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 4. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Peer Review and AcceptanceThe acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to journal readership. Except where otherwise stated, manuscripts are double-blind peer reviewed. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Copyright license agreement required via WALS Model summary
via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be required to complete a copyright license agreement on behalf of all authors of the paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-anonymized peer review for original research articles Model summary
the journal operates a double-anonymized peer review policy for original research articles
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
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1987
- ISSN
- 0269-9702
- Electronic ISSN
- 1467-8519
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 40, Issue 8 (October 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Bioethics
What CAS zone is Bioethics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Bioethics is in Zone 3 of Philosophy, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Medical Ethics / Ethics / Social Issues / Social Sciences, Biomedical. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Bioethics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.22; CiteScore 5.1, h-index 94.
How long does peer review take at Bioethics?
Based on the dates recorded on 87 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 246 days (interquartile range 118–337 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 27% (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 Bioethics?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 5–6; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; 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 Bioethics based?
Of the 48 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (13), United Kingdom (12) and Canada (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Bioethics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Bioethics is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists AHCI, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Bioethics open access, and what is the APC?
Bioethics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,550.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .