Journal profile · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
IUBMB Life
ISSN 1521-6543 · eISSN 1521-6551 · Wiley-Blackwell · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1999
IUBMB Life: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.19; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,430; median 90 days to acceptance (72 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 115 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
IUBMB Life is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 3 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Mitochondrial Function and Pathology, RNA modifications and cancer and RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms, together about 21% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
<em>IUBMB Life</em> journal covers all fields in life sciences, from biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology, to structural biology and molecular medicine.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Mitochondrial Function and PathologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.6%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.8%
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.6%
- Photosynthetic Processes and MechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.1%
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.5%
- MicroRNA in disease regulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5%
- Biotin and Related StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.5%
- RNA Research and SplicingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 3 |
| 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 | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 3 |
| 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
- 3.19LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 6.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.15LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.84LetPub ·
- h-index
- 101LetPub ·
- h-index
- 158OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,746OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.89OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 29.41%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 82LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 86Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 657,478Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,492 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 52 | 21 | 20 |
| 2025 | 115 | 47 | 215 |
| 2024 | 118 | 58 | 589 |
| 2023 | 106 | 55 | 557 |
| 2022 | 113 | 46 | 1,458 |
| 2021 | 146 | 83 | 2,429 |
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
90 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 64 days – 149 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (74 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 113 days
- Sample
- 72 articles with submission and acceptance dates (172 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)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 10%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 84 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 22 daysPublisher 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.
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 4,430 / EUR 3,700 / GBP 2,950 | — | — |
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1999
- ISSN
- 1521-6543
- Electronic ISSN
- 1521-6551
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about IUBMB Life
What CAS zone is IUBMB Life in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, IUBMB Life is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category 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 IUBMB Life?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.19; CiteScore 6.8, h-index 158.
How long does peer review take at IUBMB Life?
Based on the dates recorded on 72 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 90 days (interquartile range 64–149 days); authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 10% (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.
Which databases index IUBMB Life?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, IUBMB Life is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is IUBMB Life open access, and what is the APC?
IUBMB Life is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,430.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .