Journal profile · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
EMBO Reports
ISSN 1469-221X · eISSN 1469-3178 · SPRINGERNATURE · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 2000
EMBO Reports: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 5.93; fully open access; APC about USD 7,990; median 206 days to acceptance (116 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 50%; 330 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
EMBO Reports is published by SPRINGERNATURE and is in Zone 1 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are RNA Research and Splicing, RNA modifications and cancer and Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics, together about 21% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
EMBO Reports publishes both long- and short-format papers in all areas of molecular-, cell- developmental biology and ecology. The journal welcomes studies that either confirm or refute prominent claims in the literature, as well as null data on important, open questions in the biosciences. EMBO Reports features an influential Science & Society section that offers timely commentary on all aspects relevant to the life sciences research community. Editors select manuscripts on the basis of technical quality and a combination of conceptual advance, general interest and physiological relevance, rather than the level of mechanistic detail reported. Submissions with authoritative reviewer reports from Review Commons or other journals are welcome and will be considered, where possible, without additional review. Analysis can range from structural and molecular to genetic to cellular and organismal. We welcome studies in any model system; human relevance is not a requirement. Topics include, but are not restricted to: ageing, biotechnology, cell and tissue architecture, cell cycle, cellular metabolism, chromatin and transcription, development, differentiation and death, ecology, evolution, genomics, computational biology, genome stability and dynamics, immunology, membranes and transport, microbiology and pathogens, molecular biology of disease, neuroscience, plant biology, posttranslational modifications and signal transduction, RNA biology, structural biology. EMBO Reports publishes a wide variety of article types (see submission guidelines) and particularly welcomes shorter-format articles framed around a single key finding, backed up by multiple lines of experimental evidence. All content is open access immediately on publication.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Editor-in-chief Bernd PulvererPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 4%); most named United States 42, Germany 24, United Kingdom 20, Switzerland 7, Mainland China 5 (132 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- RNA Research and SplicingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.5%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7%
- Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.5%
- CRISPR and Genetic EngineeringBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.5%
- Ubiquitin and proteasome pathwaysBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.1%
- DNA Repair MechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6%
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.6%
- Epigenetics and DNA MethylationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEEmbaseCASCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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
- 5.93LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.71LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.32LetPub ·
- h-index
- 164LetPub ·
- h-index
- 256OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,516OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.53OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 1.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 85.56%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 273LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 3,300,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 7,319 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 266 | 266 | 166 |
| 2025 | 330 | 330 | 1,451 |
| 2024 | 324 | 324 | 3,469 |
| 2023 | 332 | 331 | 6,649 |
| 2022 | 296 | 296 | 8,071 |
| 2021 | 350 | 346 | 12,415 |
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
206 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 151 days – 263 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (116 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 230 days
- Sample
- 116 articles with submission and acceptance dates (257 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)
- 50%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Anonymous peer review, Double anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 7,990 / EUR 6,790 / GBP 5,790 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 5,990 / USD 8,270 / EUR 7,028 | Yes | — |
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 prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Cover letter
- Required
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
- SPRINGERNATURE
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2000
- ISSN
- 1469-221X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1469-3178
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 27, Issue 17 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about EMBO Reports
What CAS zone is EMBO Reports in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, EMBO Reports is in Zone 1 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Biochemistry & Molecular Biology / Cell Biology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of EMBO Reports?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.93; CiteScore 9.5, h-index 256.
How long does peer review take at EMBO Reports?
Based on the dates recorded on 116 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 206 days (interquartile range 151–263 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; the community-reported acceptance is “about 50%”. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of EMBO Reports based?
Of the 132 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 5 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (42), Germany (24) and United Kingdom (20). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index EMBO Reports?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, EMBO Reports is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase, CAS, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is EMBO Reports open access, and what is the APC?
EMBO Reports is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 7,990.
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: .