Journal profile · Multiple
Lancet Microbe
ISSN 2666-5247 · Elsevier · United Kingdom
Lancet Microbe: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 21.09; fully open access; APC about USD 8,570; median 172 days to acceptance (103 articles, last 24 months); 245 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Lancet Microbe is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 1 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research, Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria and Antibiotic Use and Resistance, together about 23.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Infectious Diseases. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Lancet Microbe publishes research on clinically relevant microbes at all scales?from the nature of the microbe (eg, antimicrobial resistance genes/plasmids, virulence factors) to the microbiome, to pathology (including immunology) to population level effects (eg, outbreaks, epidemiology). Furthermore, it includes early phase clinical trials and other interventional studies where the outcomes are focused on the pathogen.The Lancet Microbe provides a destination for the best microbiology-focused clinical research. This research is handled in the rigorous manner expected of any journal within the Lancet family. Also in keeping with the Lancet ethos, The Lancet Microbe is a strong advocate for and collaborator with the microbial research community.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchMedicine9.7%
- Antibiotic Resistance in BacteriaBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.8%
- Antibiotic Use and ResistanceImmunology and Microbiology6.3%
- Tuberculosis Research and EpidemiologyMedicine6%
- Viral Infections and Outbreaks ResearchMedicine5.6%
- COVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesMedicine5.2%
- Respiratory viral infections researchMedicine5.2%
- SARS-CoV-2 detection and testingMedicine5.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Infectious Diseases | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Infectious Diseases | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Infectious Diseases | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- 21.09LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 21.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 24.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 24.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 5.19LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.83LetPub ·
- h-index
- 93OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 664OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 11.98OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 1.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.68%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 118LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,490 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 227 | 227 | 268 |
| 2025 | 245 | 245 | 1,714 |
| 2024 | 263 | 263 | 6,821 |
| 2023 | 222 | 222 | 6,773 |
| 2022 | 212 | 212 | 8,878 |
| 2021 | 199 | 199 | 8,983 |
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
172 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 55 days – 267 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 74 days (103 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 288 days
- Sample
- 103 articles with submission and acceptance dates (579 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 6 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 80 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 88 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 120 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 54 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 8,570 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 7,280 / EUR 6,810 / GBP 5,830 / JPY 902,940 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 6,300 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 8,570 | — | — |
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
- Open access Open Access
Article Publishing Charge (APC): USD 8,570 (excluding taxes). This journal is taking part in the GPOA program.Review this journal’s open access policy.
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
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2666-5247
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Lancet Microbe
What CAS zone is Lancet Microbe in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Lancet Microbe is in Zone 1 of Biology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Infectious Diseases / Microbiology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Lancet Microbe?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 21.09; CiteScore 24.8, h-index 93.
How long does peer review take at Lancet Microbe?
Based on the dates recorded on 103 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 172 days (interquartile range 55–267 days); authors report an average review time of about 6 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 Lancet Microbe?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Lancet Microbe is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Lancet Microbe open access, and what is the APC?
Lancet Microbe is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 8,570.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .