Journal profile
Journal of Biology
ISSN 1478-5854 · eISSN 1741-7007 · BMC · United Kingdom
Journal of Biology: impact factor 5.4 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 3,790; median 207 days to acceptance (110 articles, last 24 months).
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Biology is published by BMC. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms, Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics and Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks, together about 21.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
BMC Biology is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all areas of biology. As a selective journal, published articles represents advances that are of high interest to a broad readership, as well as significant new findings, tools, and commentary in specialized sub-fields. The journal’s scope covers primary research papers in any aspect of fundamental or applied biological sciences, or that bring insights into biological phenomena from related fields. The journal publishes primary content in Research, Methodology, Software and Registered Reports articles. Commissioned frontmatter Reviews, Perspectives, Forums and Comments provide authoritative coverage of important topics for the community. Submissions are handled by our team of in-house professional editors and expert Editorial Board Members.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Editor-in-chief Graham BellPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.6%
- Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.9%
- Bioinformatics and Genomic NetworksBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.9%
- Genomics and Phylogenetic StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.5%
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology ResearchNeuroscience5.5%
- Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model OrganismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.5%
- Developmental Biology and Gene RegulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
- RNA Research and SplicingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
DOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEScopusMEDLINECASCAB AbstractsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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 (publisher) 2025
- 5.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.7Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 65OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 189OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 4,400,000Publisher website ·
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
207 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 151 days – 281 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 13 days (110 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 226 days
- Sample
- 110 articles with submission and acceptance dates (725 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 9 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 9 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 | EUR 3,090 / USD 3,790 / GBP 2,690 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | GBP 2,190 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 2,190 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 2,690 / USD 3,790 / EUR 3,090 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers3, by deadline
Publisher websiteArticle types accepted8
- commentResearch Article Methodology Software Registered Report Comment Review Perspective Matters ArisingLength not stated
- matters arisingResearch Article Methodology Software Registered Report Comment Review Perspective Matters ArisingLength not stated
- methodologyResearch Article Methodology Software Registered Report Comment Review Perspective Matters ArisingLength not stated
- perspectiveResearch Article Methodology Software Registered Report Comment Review Perspective Matters ArisingLength not stated
- registered reportResearch Article Methodology Software Registered Report Comment Review Perspective Matters ArisingLength not stated
- research articleResearch Article Methodology Software Registered Report Comment Review Perspective Matters ArisingLength not stated
- reviewResearch Article Methodology Software Registered Report Comment Review Perspective Matters ArisingLength not stated
- softwareResearch Article Methodology Software Registered Report Comment Review Perspective Matters ArisingLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Data availability Formatting the 'Availability of data and materials' section of your manuscript
The following format for the 'Availability of data and materials section of your manuscript should be used:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Licensing and copyright
Creative Commons licences Open access articles in Springer Nature journals are published under Creative Commons licences. These provide an industry-standard framework to support easy re-use of open access material. Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain copyright of their articles. BMC Biology articles are published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerc…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Benefits of open access
Publishing open access (OA) offers a number of benefits, including greater reach and readership for your work: Cited more 1.6x more citations of OA articles than non-OA articles across all subjects Downloaded more 4x more downloads of OA articles than non-OA articles Greater impact 2.5x more Altmetric attention. OA articles attracted 1.9x more news mentions and 1.2x more policy mentions Open acces…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Peer review is the process used to evaluate the quality of a manuscript before publication. Independent researchers in the relevant field assess submitted manuscripts to check their validity and robustness. Their feedback guides editors in making publication decisions. Typically, two or more experts evaluate each manuscript based on three main criteria: scientific robustness: is the research metho…
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
- BMC
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1478-5854
- Electronic ISSN
- 1741-7007
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- 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 Journal of Biology
What is the impact factor of Journal of Biology?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 5.4 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; h-index 65.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Biology?
Based on the dates recorded on 110 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 207 days (interquartile range 151–281 days); authors report an average review time of about 9 weeks. 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 Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Biology is indexed in DOAJ. The journal's website also lists SCIE, Scopus, MEDLINE, CAS and CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Biology open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Biology is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,790.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .