Journal profile · Evolutionary Biology
Biology Letters
ISSN 1744-9561 · eISSN 1744-957X · The Royal Society · ENGLAND · Bimonthly · Founded 2005
Biology Letters: CAS Zone 2 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.74; fully open access; median 102 days to acceptance (98 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 213 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Biology Letters is published by The Royal Society and is in Zone 2 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Animal Behavior and Reproduction, Plant and animal studies and Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior, together about 33% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Previously a supplement to Proceedings B, and launched as an independent journal in 2005, Biology Letters is a primarily online, peer-reviewed journal that publishes short, high-quality articles, reviews and opinion pieces from across the biological sciences. The scope of Biology Letters is vast - publishing high-quality research in any area of the biological sciences. However, we have particular strengths in the biology, evolution and ecology of whole organisms. We also publish in other areas of biology, such as molecular ecology and evolution, environmental science, and phylogenetics.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Evolutionary Biology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences15.5%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences11.4%
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.1%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science4.6%
- Avian ecology and behaviorEnvironmental Science4.4%
- Animal Vocal Communication and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.2%
- Primate Behavior and EcologyPsychology4.1%
- Amphibian and Reptile BiologyEnvironmental Science4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Evolutionary Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Evolutionary Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Evolutionary Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- 2.74LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.98LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.12LetPub ·
- h-index
- 95LetPub ·
- h-index
- 175OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,599OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.73OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 59.04%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 185LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,711 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 145 | 145 | 73 |
| 2025 | 213 | 196 | 740 |
| 2024 | 177 | 177 | 1,185 |
| 2023 | 179 | 178 | 1,953 |
| 2022 | 190 | 190 | 3,035 |
| 2021 | 171 | 171 | 3,369 |
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 PubMed · to
102 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 71 days – 134 days
- Acceptance to online
- —
- Submission to online
- —
- Sample
- 98 articles with submission and acceptance dates (389 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 1 monthLetPub ·
- 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
Fully open accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 2005
- ISSN
- 1744-9561
- Electronic ISSN
- 1744-957X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Biology Letters
What CAS zone is Biology Letters in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Biology Letters is in Zone 2 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Biology / Ecology / Evolutionary Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Biology Letters?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.74; CiteScore 4.7, h-index 175.
How long does peer review take at Biology Letters?
Based on the dates recorded on 98 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 102 days (interquartile range 71–134 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; 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 Biology Letters?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Biology Letters is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Biology Letters open access, and what is the APC?
Biology Letters is a fully open-access journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, 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: .