Journal profile · CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARYCRYSTALLOGRAPH-CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
IUCrJ
ISSN 2052-2525 · International Union of Crystallography · ENGLAND
IUCrJ: CAS Zone 3 · Materials Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.47; fully open access; APC about USD 2,300; median 94 days to acceptance (78 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 78% (journal website); 69 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
IUCrJ is published by International Union of Crystallography and is in Zone 3 of Materials Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Enzyme Structure and Function, Crystallography and molecular interactions and Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications, together about 36.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Materials Chemistry. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
IUCrJis a fully open-access society-owned journal from the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr). The journal publishes high-profile, original research of widespread interest covering all aspects of structural science. It welcomes articles in fields including, but not limited to, biology and medicine chemistry and crystal engineering cryoEM electron crystallography materials and computation neutron and synchrotron science and technology physics and free electron laser science and technology Articles in IUCrJ should be introduced in an accessible way to a broad audience and have the potential to influence one or more fields of structural science.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARYCRYSTALLOGRAPH-CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
Editor-in-chief A. J. AllenNationalPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 8%); most named United States 10, United Kingdom 8, Mainland China 4, Germany 4, France 4 (48 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Enzyme Structure and FunctionMaterials Science16.6%
- Crystallography and molecular interactionsChemistry10.7%
- Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and ApplicationsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.5%
- X-ray Diffraction in CrystallographyMaterials Science8.1%
- Advanced X-ray Imaging TechniquesPhysics and Astronomy7.8%
- Protein Structure and DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.7%
- Crystallization and Solubility StudiesMaterials Science4.5%
- Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy TechniquesMaterials Science3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Materials Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Materials Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Crystallography | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Materials Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Materials Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Crystallography | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Materials Science Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Materials Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Crystallography | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceMEDLINEPMCINSPECCASPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, Crossref
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
- 3.47LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.06LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.98LetPub ·
- h-index
- 30LetPub ·
- h-index
- 72OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 620OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.95OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 55LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 71Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,212 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 53 | 53 | 30 |
| 2025 | 69 | 69 | 152 |
| 2024 | 99 | 99 | 692 |
| 2023 | 83 | 83 | 793 |
| 2022 | 83 | 83 | 937 |
| 2021 | 162 | 162 | 1,648 |
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
94 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 60 days – 136 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 34 days (93 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 134 days
- Sample
- 78 articles with submission and acceptance dates (146 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 10 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 78%Publisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 16 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 | USD 2,300 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,200 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,300 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,540 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- Charged; see the journal's website for the amount
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 prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 300 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 7,000 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted7
- feature articlesFeature Articles are focused surveys covering recent advances in an area of current research.Length not stated
- lead articlesLead Articles are authoritative, comprehensive and forward-looking reviews of major areas of research interest.Length not stated
- letters to the editorThese may deal with non-technical aspects of structural science, its role, its propagation, the proper functions of its Societies etc. or may make a technical o…Length not stated
- research lettersResearch Letters report significant findings of immediate interest. They should be typically 4000 words including a fully referenced abstract not exceeding 300 …Length not stated
- research papersFull-length Research Papers describe important original research work. They should not normally exceed seven journal pages (about 7000 words).Length not stated
- scientific commentariesScientific Commentaries discuss articles of particular importance for the readership of the journal.Length not stated
- topical reviewsTopical Reviews aim to capture the current trend of a field and are expected to be relatively short.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- AI use 3.6. AI tools
Authors may make use of AI tools in preparing their articles. However, such tools may not be listed as an author, as they cannot be held accountable for the work. All co-authors of the text should carefully check for any errors introduced through the use of an AI tool. Authors who have employed an AI tool should document this use in the methods or acknowledgements sections.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Authors are expected to make supporting data freely available. Model summary
In order that others can reproduce, verify and build on the work published in IUCr Journals, authors are expected to make supporting data freely available.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 3.5. Author's warranty and ethical considerations
The journal is a member of COPE and endorses its recommendations. Model summary
The submission of an article is taken as an implicit guarantee that the work is original, that it is the author(s) own work, that all authors are aware of and concur with the submission, that all workers involved in the study are listed as authors or given proper credit in the acknowledgements, that the manuscript has not already been published (in any language or medium), and that it is not being…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright 3.8. Copyright
Authors retain copyright and agree to an open-access licence identical to CC-BY. Model summary
Authors will not be asked to transfer copyright to the IUCr, but will instead be asked to agree during article submission to an open-access licence. This licence is identical to the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) Licence. Details of author rights can be found at https://journals.iucr.org/services/authorrights.html.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access 7.5. Open access
IUCrJ is an open-access journal. The costs of journal production, and of online hosting and archiving are met by charging an open-access fee to authors. Authors will be asked to pay an open-access fee upon acceptance of their article for publication. Authors from developing countries may apply for their open-access fees to be waived. Waiver requests should be made before submission of an article t…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Peer review process Peer review: yes Review process: single-blind
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Articles may be checked for plagiarism using the CrossCheck service. Model summary
Articles may be checked for plagiarism using the CrossCheck service.
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
- International Union of Crystallography
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2052-2525
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- 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 ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about IUCrJ
What CAS zone is IUCrJ in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, IUCrJ is in Zone 3 of Materials Science, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Crystallography / Chemistry, Multidisciplinary / Materials Science, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Materials Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of IUCrJ?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.47; CiteScore 5.7, h-index 72.
How long does peer review take at IUCrJ?
Based on the dates recorded on 78 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 94 days (interquartile range 60–136 days); authors report an average review time of about 10 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 78%. 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 IUCrJ?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 7,000 words; Reference style: Harvard; Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: Required. 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 IUCrJ based?
Of the 48 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (10), United Kingdom (8) and Mainland China (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index IUCrJ?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, IUCrJ is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, MEDLINE, PMC, INSPEC and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is IUCrJ open access, and what is the APC?
IUCrJ is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,300.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, 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: .