Journal profile · Microbiology
FEMS Microbiology Reviews
ISSN 0168-6445 · eISSN 1574-6976 · Oxford University Press · NETHERLANDS · Bimonthly
FEMS Microbiology Reviews: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 16.89; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 133 days to acceptance (97 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: mostly invited papers; 68 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
FEMS Microbiology Reviews is published by Oxford University Press 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 Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology, Bacteriophages and microbial interactions and Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology, together about 28.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
As of January 2024, FEMS Microbiology Reviews is a fully open access journal. This means that all previously published content is free to read from this date. It also means that all submissions that get accepted for publication will be published open access and will therefore be subject to an Article Processing Charge (APC). See the Copyright and license including Open Access section of our Author Guidelines for more information. At FEMS we are working hard to make publishing in our journals as financially accessible as possible. We want the barrier to entry to publishing in our journals to be around the quality and soundness of the science, rather than a financial barrier. This is why we are keeping one broad-scope journal free-to-publish; our APCs are set lower than many other quality journals in our field; and we have put in place generous discount and waiver policies; visit our Open Access FAQs page for more information. FEMS Microbiology Reviews publishes Reviews from leading authors to provide comprehensive and authoritative coverage on key issues in microbiology. Scope of the journal FEMS Microbiology Reviews publishes reviews dealing with all aspects of microbiology that have not been surveyed recently. Reviews should be devoted to topics of current interest and provide comprehensive, critical and authoritative coverage. They should provide new perspectives and critical, detailed discussions of significant trends in the areas being reviewed and may contain elements of a speculative and selective nature. All reviews should address both specialists and the general reader. Whenever possible, reviews should be put into the framework of general microbiology and biology. Manuscripts of lectures delivered at symposia that do not review the related field are not acceptable, nor are unevaluated compilations of the literature. Journal metrics and highlights Explore a collection of the most read and most cited articles making an impact in FEMS Microbiology Reviews published within the past two years. This collection will be continuously updated with the journal's leading articles so be sure to revisit periodically to see what is being read and cited. Abstracting & Indexing services Abstracts in Anthropology (Baywood Publishing) Abstracts on Hygiene & Communicable Diseases (CABI) Academic Search (EBSCO Publishing) Academic Search Premier (EBSCO Publishing) AgBiotech News & Information (CABI) AgBiotechNet (CABI) AGRICOLA Database (National Agricultural Library)
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Microbiology
Editor-in-chief Urs GreberPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 4%); most named Switzerland 11, Germany 9, United States 5, United Kingdom 4, Israel 3 (46 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Bacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology12.1%
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactionsEnvironmental Science9%
- Microbial Community Ecology and PhysiologyEnvironmental Science7.6%
- Genomics and Phylogenetic StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.3%
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.9%
- Probiotics and Fermented FoodsAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.6%
- Microbial Metabolic Engineering and BioproductionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.7%
- Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.5%
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 | Microbiology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: yes
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 1 |
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 | Microbiology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: yes
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
- 16.89LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 16.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 26LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 26Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 4.56LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.79LetPub ·
- h-index
- 187LetPub ·
- h-index
- 320OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,766OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 14.62OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 79.11%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 59LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,505 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 54 | 54 | 88 |
| 2025 | 68 | 68 | 927 |
| 2024 | 34 | 34 | 1,265 |
| 2023 | 67 | 63 | 3,849 |
| 2022 | 53 | 42 | 2,245 |
| 2021 | 59 | 39 | 5,014 |
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
133 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 81 days – 182 days
- Acceptance to online
- —
- Submission to online
- —
- Sample
- 97 articles with submission and acceptance dates (132 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)
- Mostly invited papersLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 18 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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 accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | GBP 2,500 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | GBP 2,500 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access FEMS and Open Access: Embracing an Open Future
As of January 2024, FEMS has flipped four of its journals to fully open access (OA), making five out of its six journals OA. FEMS Microbiology Letters remains a subscription journal and free to publish in. We are excited to be making high quality science freely available to anyone to read anywhere in the world and further supporting the advancement of our discipline. View our FAQs page
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
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- ISSN
- 0168-6445
- Electronic ISSN
- 1574-6976
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about FEMS Microbiology Reviews
What CAS zone is FEMS Microbiology Reviews in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, FEMS Microbiology Reviews is in Zone 1 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Microbiology; 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 FEMS Microbiology Reviews?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 16.89; CiteScore 26, h-index 320.
How long does peer review take at FEMS Microbiology Reviews?
Based on the dates recorded on 97 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 133 days (interquartile range 81–182 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Mostly invited papers”. 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 FEMS Microbiology Reviews based?
Of the 46 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Switzerland (11), Germany (9) and United States (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index FEMS Microbiology Reviews?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, FEMS Microbiology Reviews is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is FEMS Microbiology Reviews open access, and what is the APC?
FEMS Microbiology Reviews is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .