Journal profile · Infectious Diseases
Clinical Microbiology and Infection
ISSN 1198-743X · eISSN 1469-0691 · ELSEVIER SCI LTD · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 1995
Clinical Microbiology and Infection: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 8.45; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,780; median 76 days to acceptance (126 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 395 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Clinical Microbiology and Infection is published by ELSEVIER SCI LTD and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria, Bacterial Identification and Susceptibility Testing and Antimicrobial Resistance in Staphylococcus, together about 26.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Epidemiology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Clinical Microbiology and Infection (CMI) is a monthly publication in English of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and publishes peer-reviewed papers that present basic and applied research relevant to therapy and diagnostics in the fields of microbiology, infectious diseases, virology, parasitology, immunology and epidemiology as related to these fields. The journal also publishes theme issues, editorials, commentaries, and reviews, as well as guidelines originating from European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases study groups. The journal was established in 1995. It is the official journal of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and published by Elsevier. Please see CMI Editorial Policies for further details.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Infectious Diseases
Editor-in-chief Jesús RodríguezPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 2%); most named United States 12, Germany 11, Italy 7, France 6, United Kingdom 5 (85 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Antibiotic Resistance in BacteriaBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.1%
- Bacterial Identification and Susceptibility TestingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.6%
- Antimicrobial Resistance in StaphylococcusMedicine7.8%
- Pneumonia and Respiratory InfectionsMedicine6.5%
- Antibiotic Use and ResistanceImmunology and Microbiology5.9%
- Antibiotics Pharmacokinetics and EfficacyMedicine5.1%
- Antifungal resistance and susceptibilityMedicine4.8%
- Streptococcal Infections and TreatmentsMedicine3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Infectious Diseases | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Infectious Diseases | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Infectious Diseases | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview 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
- 8.45LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 8.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 17.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 17.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.66LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.1LetPub ·
- h-index
- 131LetPub ·
- h-index
- 253OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 6,400OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.66OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 34.3%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 213LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 10,768 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 346 | 139 | 226 |
| 2025 | 395 | 267 | 1,485 |
| 2024 | 365 | 362 | 3,439 |
| 2023 | 341 | 341 | 5,678 |
| 2022 | 390 | 390 | 8,983 |
| 2021 | 438 | 434 | 19,778 |
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
76 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 47 days – 117 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 7 days (126 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 83 days
- Sample
- 126 articles with submission and acceptance dates (944 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)
- 2–4 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 8 daysPublisher 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 3,780 / EUR 3,540 / GBP 3,030 / JPY 468,830 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,160 | — | — |
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 prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted11, with length limits
- commentarye) on topics relevant to our readers. A Commentary should be a short contribution: 1400 words or less, maximum 12 references. Commentaries are publishedmain text ≤ 1,400 words · references ≤ 12
- editorialEditorialLength not stated
- guidelinesGuidelinesLength not stated
- letterLetters will be considered for publication if they contain constructive criticism on articles published within the previous 3 months, the authors of which will …main text ≤ 800 words · figures and tables ≤ 1 · references ≤ 5
- lettersLettersLength not stated
- narrative reviewWe are happy to publish reviews that are helpful to our readers on relevant topics not recently reviewed. These should be short (2500 words or fewer and maximum…main text ≤ 2,500 words · references ≤ 60
- original articlealues or odds-ratios or relative risks. Original Articles should not exceed 2500 words. Data should be provided in Tables and Figures and not repemain text ≤ 2,500 words · abstract ≤ 2500 words
- picture of a microorganismPicture of a MicroorganismLength not stated
- research noteResearch NoteLength not stated
- systematic reviewof data synthesis; Results; Discussion. Systematic Reviews are limited to 3500 words. Narrative Review We are happy to publish reviews that aremain text ≤ 3,500 words · abstract ≤ 300 words
- theme issuesTheme IssuesLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Elsevier recognizes the potential of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI Tools”), when used responsibly, to help researchers work efficiently, gain critical insights fast and achieve better outcomes. Increasingly, these tools, including AI agents and deep research tools, are…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (3) final approval of the version to be submitted.At the end of the text before the references please include a paragraph det…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles includ…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Editorial process/Peer review
An automated message confirming receipt is sent upon submission. Please be aware that the submission process is not complete until you receive this message indicating a tracking number (CLM-XX-XXXX).Submissions are initially reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and are either assigned to an Associate Editor or declined as being out of scope or lacking priority considering the current rate of rejection …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint references
Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced. Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the nam…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Reporting guidelines
Certain research designs should be reported in CMI articles according to reporting guidelines: CONSORT for randomized controlled trials; STROBE for observational studies (including its extensions, STROME-ID for reporting of molecular epidemiology for infectious diseases and STROBE-AMS for reporting epidemiological studies on antimicrobial resistance); PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analysi…
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
- ELSEVIER SCI LTD
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1995
- ISSN
- 1198-743X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1469-0691
- Society / sponsor
- European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Clinical Microbiology and Infection
What CAS zone is Clinical Microbiology and Infection in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Clinical Microbiology and Infection is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Infectious Diseases / Microbiology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Clinical Microbiology and Infection?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 8.45; CiteScore 17.1, h-index 253.
How long does peer review take at Clinical Microbiology and Infection?
Based on the dates recorded on 126 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 76 days (interquartile range 47–117 days); authors report an average review time of 2–4 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”. 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 Clinical Microbiology and Infection?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Vancouver; Graphical abstract: Optional. 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 Clinical Microbiology and Infection based?
Of the 85 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (12), Germany (11) and Italy (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Clinical Microbiology and Infection?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Clinical Microbiology and Infection is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Clinical Microbiology and Infection open access, and what is the APC?
Clinical Microbiology and Infection is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,780.
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: .