Journal profile · Cell Biology
Journal of Cell Science
ISSN 0021-9533 · eISSN 1477-9137 · Company of Biologists Ltd · ENGLAND · Semimonthly · Founded 1966
Journal of Cell Science: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.75; hybrid open access; median 138 days to acceptance (88 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 31.66%; 398 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Cell Science is published by Company of Biologists Ltd 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 Microtubule and mitosis dynamics, Cellular transport and secretion and Cellular Mechanics and Interactions, together about 31.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology and Cell Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Cell Science publishes cutting-edge science encompassing all aspects of cell biology. It is published by The Company of Biologists, a not-for-profit organisation.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Cell Biology
Editor-in-chief Michael WayPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Microtubule and mitosis dynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology11.7%
- Cellular transport and secretionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.1%
- Cellular Mechanics and InteractionsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.8%
- Cell Adhesion Molecules ResearchMedicine7%
- RNA Research and SplicingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.3%
- Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.6%
- Protist diversity and phylogenyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.1%
- Photosynthetic Processes and MechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.4%
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 | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| 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 | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
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
- 3.75LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.99LetPub ·
- h-index
- 252LetPub ·
- h-index
- 391OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 17,360OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.51OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 52.29%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 270LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 24,240 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 280 | 178 | 177 |
| 2025 | 398 | 320 | 1,094 |
| 2024 | 378 | 330 | 2,435 |
| 2023 | 404 | 392 | 4,094 |
| 2022 | 420 | 392 | 5,304 |
| 2021 | 559 | 451 | 9,557 |
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
138 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 91 days – 195 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 44 days (88 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 175 days
- Sample
- 88 articles with submission and acceptance dates (573 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 1.4 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 31.66%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 36 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 128 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 10 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.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Preprints
- Open access Open Access publishing options
We recognise the benefits of Open Access publishing and, as one of the very first transformative journals, we offer several publishing options to all of our authors, whatever their funder or financial status. Read more about the OA options we offer our authors.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints in microscopy
Check out our fortnightly posts curating the latest preprints from the microscopy field. Each post focus on a different topic, covering new tools and techniques in imaging, bioimage analysis tools and applications in cell and developmental biology.
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
- Company of Biologists Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semimonthly
- Founded
- 1966
- ISSN
- 0021-9533
- Electronic ISSN
- 1477-9137
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 139, Issue 17 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Cell Science
What CAS zone is Journal of Cell Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Cell Science is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Cell Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Cell Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.75; CiteScore 5.9, h-index 391.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Cell Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 88 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 138 days (interquartile range 91–195 days); authors report an average review time of about 1.4 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 31.66%”. 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 Cell Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Cell Science is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of Cell Science open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Cell Science is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
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: .