Journal profile · Immunology
JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS
ISSN 0021-8820 · eISSN 1881-1469 · Springer Nature · JAPAN · Monthly · Founded 2005
JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.73; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,590; median 90 days to acceptance (93 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 50%; 89 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus; the journal's website says submissions are paused or closed.
The journal's website says submissions are paused or closed: On July 14, 2026, the journal will start accepting submissions on SNAPP, Springer Nature’s peer review system. The current manuscript tracking system will no longer accept new submissions after this date. Please click here to find out more about using SNAPP as an author, editor, or reviewer. Source ↗Publisher website ·
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS is published by Springer Nature 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 Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis, Fungal Biology and Applications and Cancer therapeutics and mechanisms, together about 36.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Research on antibiotics and other microbial products is pivotal to the global battle against the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. As well as the traditional research and development model of finding replacement drugs to tackle this problem, there are other important new strategies for addressing resistance which include research into bioactive microbial products. The Journal of Antibiotics forms an integral part of this battle against resistance by encouraging and publishing original research articles that report findings of wide biological significance in the multidisciplinary field of antimicrobials. We specifically encourage articles that represent important advances in the field of antimicrobial research, including recently discovered antibiotics, bioactive microbial products and novel strategies for combating antibiotic resistance. The Journal of Antibiotics provides a dynamic platform for communicating research on microbial products and antimicrobial approaches through also including insightful and up-to-date reviews, short communications and letters to the editor.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Immunology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Microbial Natural Products and BiosynthesisMedicine24.7%
- Fungal Biology and ApplicationsMedicine6%
- Cancer therapeutics and mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.3%
- Carbohydrate Chemistry and SynthesisChemistry5.1%
- Antibiotic Resistance in BacteriaBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.9%
- Chemical Synthesis and AnalysisBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.2%
- Marine Sponges and Natural ProductsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.1%
- Legal and Regulatory AnalysisSocial Sciences4%
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 | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Immunology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Immunology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Immunology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINECurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, OCLC
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
- 2.73LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.41LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.78LetPub ·
- h-index
- 73LetPub ·
- h-index
- 158OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 7,596OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.35OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 11.79%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 77LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,855,228Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 12,328 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 72 | 16 | 23 |
| 2025 | 89 | 17 | 145 |
| 2024 | 108 | 27 | 465 |
| 2023 | 98 | 21 | 991 |
| 2022 | 93 | 23 | 788 |
| 2021 | 102 | 24 | 1,384 |
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 65 days – 131 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (93 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 112 days
- Sample
- 93 articles with submission and acceptance dates (186 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 2 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 50%LetPub ·
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 4,590 / EUR 3,590 / GBP 2,890 | — | — |
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.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted3
- articleArticleLength not stated
- brief communicationBrief CommunicationLength not stated
- review articleReview ArticleLength not stated
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
- Springer Nature
- Country or region
- JAPAN
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2005
- ISSN
- 0021-8820
- Electronic ISSN
- 1881-1469
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS
What CAS zone is JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology / Immunology / Microbiology / Pharmacology & Pharmacy. 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 JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.73; CiteScore 4.6, h-index 158.
How long does peer review take at JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS?
Based on the dates recorded on 93 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 90 days (interquartile range 65–131 days); authors report an average review time of about 2 months; 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.
Which databases index JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS open access, and what is the APC?
JOURNAL OF ANTIBIOTICS is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,590.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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: .