IFAC Journal of Systems and Control

IFAC Journal of Systems and Control is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 4 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Advanced Control Systems Optimization, Control Systems and Identification and Stability and Control of Uncertain Systems, together about 30.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Control and Systems Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)

A journal of IFAC, the International Federation of Automatic ControlIFAC Journal of Systems & Control publishes significant, previously unpublished, and high-quality research papers containing generalizable, extensible and transferable innovations across all aspects of the field of control and automation.The Journal has considerable interest in multi-, cross-, and trans- disciplinary research from control and systems theory to their application, including articles where the novelty is in the linkages between and across fields. These works need not be novel in a single focus area, but show significant impact and novelty in the combination and extension across multiple areas. They often explore new areas of theory and/or (especially) application at the boundary of systems and control enabling new viewpoints, insight, high/new impact, and/or techniques.A major requirement for publication is for articles to clearly state:• Novelty and Context: The novelty of the article and/or its novel elements relative to a large field of work and/or its disciplines of application. • Impact and Insight: The potential impact and insight created by the work in the relevant fields • Validation: The clear validation of their results in comparison to other results in the field, and/or experimental test results by the authors and/or other works.Papers should clearly express all these aspects in (each/all of) the Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions sections of the article.Further, the journal requires papers be in a standard format structure of major sections in the order: Abstract – Introduction – Methods – Results – Discussion – Conclusions – References, and no other structure.The journal accepts papers across the entire breadth and depth of both theory and application of control systems and system identification, as defined by IFAC Technical Committees and listed below:• Systems and Signals, Dynamic Systems Modelling, and System Identification • Design Methods in Linear, Nonlinear, Optimal, Robust, Decentralised, and Distributed Control • AI / Machine Learning, Computer Systems, Cognition, and Communication Systems • Mechatronics, Robotics, Human-Machine Systems and Interfaces, and Sensors/Actuators • Cyber-Physical Manufacturing and Human Systems • Power Systems and Distribution, Process Control • Transportation, Aerospace, and Vehicle Systems • Biomedical, Biological, and Ecological Systems • Social Systems, Control Education, Economic and Financial SystemsIn addition, the Journal strongly encourages "vision papers" about IFAC Clusters and Technical Committee (CC/TC) areas, as well as the organization of special issues from IFAC Technical Committee organised symposiums. Finally, the Journal will also invite special issues and reviews in areas of special interest.Authors are strongly encouraged to provide attachments of data files, computer programs, and other links as part of the electronic environment of the papers, but not part of the reviewed work.

From the journal's Aims & Scope

Research area (LetPub): AUTOMATION & CONTROL SYSTEMS

Editor-in-chief J. GeoffreyPublisher website

Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 6%); most named New Zealand 4, Brazil 3, Belgium 3, Italy 2, Mainland China 1 (16 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website · 2026-10-01

CAS Journal Ranking

Database indexing

ESCIScopusLetPub

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.

Impact

Impact factor (publisher)

1.9Publisher website · 2026-10-01

CiteScore 2026-06

3LetPub · 2026-09-13

CiteScore (publisher)

3Publisher website · 2026-10-01

SJR 2026-06

0.44LetPub · 2026-09-13

SNIP 2026-06

0.76LetPub · 2026-09-13

h-index

22OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

i10-index

62OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

2-year mean citedness

1.71OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

Self-citation rate

5.3%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Share of gold OA articles

34.59%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Volume

Articles per year

58LetPub · 2026-09-13

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.

Figures by source

Submission to first decision

1 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

First decision after review

46 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Submission to acceptance

126 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Acceptance to publication

6 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Peer review

Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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.

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.

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.

Publisher

Elsevier

ISSN

2468-6018

Official links

• Journal homepage ↗LetPub
• Submission system ↗Publisher website
• Special issues ↗Publisher website