Journal profile · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
FEBS LETTERS
ISSN 0014-5793 · eISSN 1873-3468 · Wiley-Blackwell · NETHERLANDS · Biweekly · Founded 1968
FEBS LETTERS: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.13; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,980; median 76 days to acceptance (99 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 33%; 324 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
FEBS LETTERS is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 4 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms, RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms and Mitochondrial Function and Pathology, together about 24.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
For high-quality, full-length papers and expert reviews relevant to the molecular, cellular and biochemical life sciences.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Photosynthetic Processes and MechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.6%
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.3%
- Mitochondrial Function and PathologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.1%
- Ion channel regulation and functionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.8%
- Enzyme Structure and FunctionMaterials Science4.7%
- Glycosylation and Glycoproteins ResearchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
- Lipid Membrane Structure and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.2%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biophysics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biophysics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biophysics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview 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
- 3.13LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.18LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.85LetPub ·
- h-index
- 238LetPub ·
- h-index
- 394OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 42,789OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.93OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 49.7%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 237LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 258Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 3,518,044Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 59,627 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 239 | 162 | 71 |
| 2025 | 324 | 240 | 646 |
| 2024 | 315 | 242 | 1,855 |
| 2023 | 254 | 214 | 2,128 |
| 2022 | 323 | 177 | 4,151 |
| 2021 | 262 | 186 | 4,298 |
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
76 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 48 days – 114 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 31 days (103 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 106 days
- Sample
- 99 articles with submission and acceptance dates (583 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)
- 33%LetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 24%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 81 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 29 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Transparent peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
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 3,980 / EUR 3,170 / GBP 2,440 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,180 / GBP 2,560 / EUR 3,330 | — | — |
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 prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 120 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 10
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,500 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Optional
Article types accepted3, with length limits
- letterrch Article. If you choose the Research Letter article format, the length of the submitted manuscript should not exceed 4500 words, excluding figure legends, ta…main text ≤ 4,500 words
- research articleResearch ArticlesLength not stated
- reviewReviewsLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteConflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Self-archiving
- Conflicts of interest Funding sources and disclosure of conflicts of interest
You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Ethical standards
FEBS Letters adheres to international standards of ethics in publishing. Data manipulation, inappropriate image processing, plagiarism, and any sort of scientific fraud are not tolerated and will be investigated. The journal will take action where misconduct is suspected, along the lines of the general principles outlined in Guidelines on Good Publication Practice, produced by the Committee on Pub…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright and open access options
Copyright If your paper is accepted, the author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to login into Author Services; where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be able to access the copyright transfer agreement (CTA). The terms and conditions of the CTA can be previewed in the samples associated with the Copyright FAQs a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Copyright and open access options
Copyright If your paper is accepted, the author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to login into Author Services; where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be able to access the copyright transfer agreement (CTA). The terms and conditions of the CTA can be previewed in the samples associated with the Copyright FAQs a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Embargo period
FEBS Letters follows a subscription-based model with a delayed and hybrid open access policy. All articles are made available to non-subscribers for free after 12 months, with Review articles being available for free immediately.
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
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Biweekly
- Founded
- 1968
- ISSN
- 0014-5793
- Electronic ISSN
- 1873-3468
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about FEBS LETTERS
What CAS zone is FEBS LETTERS in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, FEBS LETTERS is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Biophysics / Biochemistry & Molecular Biology / Cell Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of FEBS LETTERS?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.13; CiteScore 5.8, h-index 394.
How long does peer review take at FEBS LETTERS?
Based on the dates recorded on 99 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 76 days (interquartile range 48–114 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; the community-reported acceptance is “about 33%”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 24% (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 FEBS LETTERS?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 120 words; Keywords: ≤ 10; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,500 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: 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.
Which databases index FEBS LETTERS?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, FEBS LETTERS is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is FEBS LETTERS open access, and what is the APC?
FEBS LETTERS is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,980.
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: .