Journal profile · VIROLOGY
Frontiers in Virology
ISSN 2673-818X · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Virology: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.3 (journal website); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 13 weeks (community reports); 35 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Virology is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research, HIV Research and Treatment and Plant Virus Research Studies, together about 26.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Infectious Diseases. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Virology is a multidisciplinary journal, indexed in the DOAJ and Web of Science (ESCI), that covers all aspects of viruses at the biological and molecular levels. Led by Field Chief Editor Akio Adachi (Tokushima University, Japan), the journal explores developments in novel technologies, methodologies, and analytical systems for studies in virology. With a focus on innovative investigative and analytical systems, Frontiers in Virology explores all biological and molecular aspects of viruses and their interactions with their hosts. Key scientific issues in this journal include, but are not limited to: antivirals and vaccines emerging and reemerging viruses innate and acquired immunity against viruses pathophysiology of viral diseases structural and functional biology of viral proteins/genomes virus-cell interactions viral diversification in host/host populations virus intracellular movement and transit between cells viral pathogenesis virus replication strategies virus utilization for practical purposes. Frontiers in Virology accepts submissions that target and analyze viruses, by various investigation systems, of all categories and classifications. Manuscripts on subviral entities such as prions, viroids, and endogenous sequences are also encouraged for submission. This journal is committed to supporting the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3: good health and well-being; and SDG 17: partnerships for the goals. Descriptive studies -such as comparative transcriptomic or phylogenetic analyses- are not suitable for this journal unless they provide novel and meaningful insights into gene/protein function and/or the biology of the virus. Furthermore, quantitative analyses, including quantitative omics studies, should be performed on a minimum number of 3 biological replicates. Frontiers’ journals require that manuscripts primarily comprising computational studies of public data, must include appropriate validation. Please refer to the Frontiers Standards for research methodology policy, for more information. Manuscripts not adhering to these standards will not be considered. Frontiers in Virology commitment is to advance research in the field by allowing unrestricted access to articles and communicating scientific knowledge to researchers and the public to enable future scientific breakthroughs. Frontiers in Virology is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): VIROLOGY
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 6, Japan 2, Germany 2, Italy 2, Spain 1 (16 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchMedicine12.3%
- HIV Research and TreatmentImmunology and Microbiology7.9%
- Plant Virus Research StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.5%
- Mosquito-borne diseases and controlMedicine6.2%
- Viral Infections and VectorsMedicine5.8%
- Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiologyMedicine5.2%
- Animal Virus Infections StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.4%
- COVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesMedicine4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Virology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Virology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, CLOCKSS, Crossref, Semantic Scholar
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 (publisher)
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.56LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.46LetPub ·
- h-index
- 21OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 60OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.57OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 32LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 342 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 51 | 51 | 16 |
| 2025 | 35 | 35 | 77 |
| 2024 | 51 | 51 | 259 |
| 2023 | 58 | 58 | 325 |
| 2022 | 107 | 107 | 1,047 |
| 2021 | 40 | 40 | 387 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 13 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 13 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 | CHF 1,950 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 1,950 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,125 | Yes | — | |
| 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)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
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
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2673-818X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frontiers in Virology
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Virology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Virology is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Virology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Frontiers in Virology?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.3; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.1, h-index 21.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Virology?
Authors report an average review time of about 13 weeks. 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 Frontiers in Virology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX and Word. 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 Frontiers in Virology based?
Of the 16 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (6), Japan (2) and Germany (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Virology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Virology is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Virology open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Virology 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .