Journal profile · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
International Journal of Biological Sciences
ISSN 1449-2288 · Ivyspring International Publisher · AUSTRALIA · Monthly · Founded 2004
International Journal of Biological Sciences: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 11.71; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 125 days to acceptance (130 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 50%; 385 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
International Journal of Biological Sciences is published by Ivyspring International Publisher 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 modifications and cancer, Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research and MicroRNA in disease regulation, together about 25.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology and Cancer Research. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
International Journal of Biological Sciences publishes high-quality papers across all areas of biology and biological sciences.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Editor-in-chief Chuxia DengPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 13 in mainland China (about 21%); most named United States 30, Mainland China 13, Hong Kong, China 3, Canada 3, South Korea 2 (62 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.6%
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.8%
- MicroRNA in disease regulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.4%
- Epigenetics and DNA MethylationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.6%
- Cancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.1%
- Autophagy in Disease and TherapyMedicine4.8%
- Circular RNAs in diseasesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.8%
- Ferroptosis and cancer prognosisMedicine4.4%
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 |
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 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 | Biochemistry & Molecular 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
MEDLINEPMCPublisher website
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
- 11.71LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 11.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 17.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 3.07LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.96LetPub ·
- h-index
- 70LetPub ·
- h-index
- 167OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,144OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 10.39OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 1.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.9%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 377LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 10Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,215 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 395 | 395 | 358 |
| 2025 | 385 | 385 | 3,476 |
| 2024 | 370 | 370 | 8,110 |
| 2023 | 333 | 333 | 10,828 |
| 2022 | 406 | 406 | 18,739 |
| 2021 | 362 | 362 | 18,620 |
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
125 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 86 days – 163 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (130 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 150 days
- Sample
- 130 articles with submission and acceptance dates (854 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 publication (journal-reported)
- about 12 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Unspecified 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 | AUD 2,000 | No | CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | AUD 2,000 | — | — | |
| LetPub | AUD 5,500 | No | — | |
| Publisher website | AUD 5,500 | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted5
- commentaryCommentary: Articles in this category are for discussing controversial or interdisciplinary topics, viewpoints, and other issues of interest.Length not stated
- letter to the editorLetter to the Editor: Novel findings that may not be suitable for a full research paper or short research communication can be submitted as a Letter to the Edit…Length not stated
- research paperResearch Paper: We recommend organizing the manuscript into the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowle…Length not stated
- reviewReview: These should be authoritative and of high interest.Length not stated
- short research communicationShort Research Communication: Articles in this category present concise studies or preliminary yet innovative research findings that may be less substantial tha…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
Each author listed on a manuscript submitted to this journal must adhere to the four authorship criteria set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE): Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Competing Interests
Competing interests (also known as "conflicts of interest") that may influence the objective presentation of research findings should be disclosed in a paragraph titled "Competing Interests," placed after the Acknowledgments section and before the References. According to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, financial relationships—such as employment, consultancies, stock owners…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Availability
Authors are recommended to deposit large datasets in a public repository. Smaller datasets may be published as supplementary materials. Authors may provide the following: The location and method for accessing the data. If all data are included in the manuscript or supplementary materials, please specify. If the data will be shared upon request, provide detailed contact information. If the data are…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics
Our journals follow the guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for addressing publication ethics issues. For more details, please visit our dedicated Publication Ethics page.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License
CC BY 4.0 for articles on or after June 10, 2019; authors retain copyright. Older articles CC BY-NC 4.0. Model summary
Unless otherwise stated in the individual article, articles published on or after June 10, 2019 are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0), subject to these Terms of Use. Authors retain copyright of their articles. Articles published before June 10, 2019 were generally distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Internation…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Single-blind peer review with two or more reviewers; initial screening rejects insufficient quality manuscripts. Model summary
Manuscripts that are deemed to be of insufficient quality or unlikely to be competitive for publication are rejected during the initial screening. Remaining manuscripts undergo a single-blind peer review process with two or more reviewers.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Zero-tolerance plagiarism policy; screened at all stages. Model summary
Our journal upholds a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. Manuscripts are screened for plagiarism at all stages—before, during, and after publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Turnitin similarity report required at submission. Model summary
Authors must submit a text similarity report generated by Turnitin (iThenticate) at the time of submission.
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
- Ivyspring International Publisher
- Country or region
- AUSTRALIA
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2004
- ISSN
- 1449-2288
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about International Journal of Biological Sciences
What CAS zone is International Journal of Biological Sciences in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, International Journal of Biological Sciences is in Zone 1 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Biochemistry & Molecular 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 International Journal of Biological Sciences?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 11.71; CiteScore 17.8, h-index 167.
How long does peer review take at International Journal of Biological Sciences?
Based on the dates recorded on 130 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 125 days (interquartile range 86–163 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 International Journal of Biological Sciences based?
Of the 62 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 13 (about 21%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (30), Mainland China (13) and Hong Kong, China (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index International Journal of Biological Sciences?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, International Journal of Biological Sciences is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE and PMC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is International Journal of Biological Sciences open access, and what is the APC?
International Journal of Biological Sciences 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: .