Journal of Thermal Biology

Journal of Thermal Biology is published by Elsevier Ltd and is in Zone 2 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Physiological and biochemical adaptations, Thermoregulation and physiological responses and Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock, together about 32.9% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)

Environment, Evolution and MedicineThe Journal of Thermal Biology publishes research that advances a mechanistic and organism-centred understanding of how temperature influences humans and animals. The principal focus of the journal is the physiological, biophysical, behavioural, and evolutionary mechanisms underlying thermal biology and thermoregulation, spanning levels of biological organisation from cells to whole organisms.Contributions should provide clear insight into thermal processes, constraints, and responses of organisms themselves, including heat transfer, tolerance, regulation, and performance across thermal environments. Studies are expected to move beyond purely descriptive or correlative patterns to elucidate mechanisms, processes, or testable biological principles relevant to thermal biology. Moreover, it is also expected that studies are focused on thermo-physiological outcomes.The main themes of the journal are:thermal limits, heat and cold injury, and organismal resistance and vulnerability to thermal extremesphysiological, cellular, and evolutionary mechanisms of acclimation, acclimatization, and thermal adaptationmechanistic bases of hibernation, torpor, dormancy, aestivation, and diapausetemperature-dependent processes influencing reproduction, development, growth, ageing, exercise, and lifespanbiophysical and physiological modelling of heat transfer between organisms and their environmentsorganismal responses to temperature in the context of environmental variability and climate change, with emphasis on underlying mechanismsconservation physiology and organismal thermal biology, where temperature-dependent mechanisms inform vulnerability or resiliencebehavioural and physiological regulation of body temperature, including stress responses, fever, and pathophysiologymedical and translational applications of hypo- and hyperthermia grounded in thermal biologyeffects of exercise on thermoregulation, as well as strategies that may influence these responses (environmental factors, clothing and equipment, acclimatization, heat dissipation or gain strategies, etc.)development and validation of experimental and analytical methods for quantifying thermal responses in humans and animalsUnsuitable manuscriptsManuscripts that only indirectly address physiological, biophysical, behavioural, and evolutionary mechanisms underlying thermal biology will not be considered. For example, descriptive studies summarising broad physiological changes associated with heat or cold stress, correlative studies examining biogeographical changes in distribution in relation to climate change, or studies where the primary focus is not on thermal biology may not be suitable. If in any doubt, please send a copy of your abstract directly to the Editor in Chief to discuss further.

From the journal's Aims & Scope

Research area (LetPub): Zoology

Editor-in-chief Dominic J. McCaffertyPublisher website

Editorial board by country: 16 in mainland China (about 18%); most named Mainland China 16, United Kingdom 13, United States 12, Spain 8, Australia 8 (91 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website · 2026-10-01

CAS Journal Ranking

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.

Impact

Impact factor

3.2LetPub · 2026-09-13

Impact factor (publisher)

3.2Publisher website · 2026-10-01

CiteScore 2026-06

5.4LetPub · 2026-09-13

CiteScore (publisher)

5.4Publisher website · 2026-10-01

SJR 2026-06

0.64LetPub · 2026-09-13

SNIP 2026-06

1.18LetPub · 2026-09-13

h-index

57LetPub · 2026-09-13

h-index

112OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

i10-index

2,964OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

2-year mean citedness

3.15OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

Self-citation rate

12.5%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Share of gold OA articles

28.39%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Volume

Articles per year

299LetPub · 2026-09-13

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.

Other sources

Average review time (community reports)

4–8 weeksLetPub · 2026-09-13

Average acceptance (community reports)

EasyLetPub · 2026-09-13

Submission to first decision

11 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

First decision after review

68 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Submission to acceptance

148 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Acceptance to publication

4 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Peer review

Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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.

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.

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.

Publisher

Elsevier Ltd

Country or region

ENGLAND

Language

English

Frequency

Bimonthly

Founded

1975

ISSN

0306-4565

Electronic ISSN

1879-0992

Official links

• Journal homepage ↗LetPub
• Submission system ↗Publisher website
• Special issues ↗Publisher website