Journal profile · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Molecular Systems Biology
ISSN 1744-4292 · Wiley-Blackwell · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 2005
Molecular Systems Biology: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 6.73; fully open access; APC about USD 8,270; median 164 days to acceptance (96 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: hard; 99 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Molecular Systems Biology is published by Wiley-Blackwell 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 Gene Regulatory Network Analysis, Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks and Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction, together about 30% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Molecular Systems Biology publishes leading research in the fields of systems biology, synthetic biology and systems medicine. The editors select manuscripts based on their novelty and wide biological significance with an emphasis on understanding the dynamic and complex nature of living systems. Reports of new methods and resources are also considered. Submissions with authoritative referee reports from Review Commons or other journals are welcome and will be considered, where possible, without additional review. Topics falling within the scope of the journal include, but are not limited to: AI (Artificial Intelligence) Biotechnology and Biomedical engineering Computational biology and Modeling Evolution and Ecology Functional genomics and Gene regulation Imaging Metabolism and Metabolomics Microbiome and Meta-genomics Network biology Protein science and Proteomics Synthetic biology Systems genetics Systems medicine The journal publishes research papers as full-length Articles, short Reports, and Methods. In addition, the journal publishes Reviews, Perspectives, and Comments that target a broad and non-specialised audience, as well as News & Views, Correspondence and Editorials. All content is open access immediately on publication.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Editor-in-chief M. MadanPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 7 in mainland China (about 6%); most named United States 47, Germany 21, Switzerland 11, United Kingdom 9, Mainland China 7 (123 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Gene Regulatory Network AnalysisBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology12%
- Bioinformatics and Genomic NetworksBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.6%
- Microbial Metabolic Engineering and BioproductionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.4%
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.9%
- Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.7%
- CRISPR and Genetic EngineeringBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.4%
- Bacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.8%
- Single-cell and spatial transcriptomicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.6%
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 | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 2 |
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 | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEEmbaseCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, 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
- 6.73LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 11.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 4.23LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.51LetPub ·
- h-index
- 127LetPub ·
- h-index
- 219OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,342OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 7.64OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 1.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 85LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,300,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,672 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 69 | 69 | 101 |
| 2025 | 99 | 99 | 611 |
| 2024 | 75 | 75 | 1,144 |
| 2023 | 60 | 60 | 1,955 |
| 2022 | 68 | 68 | 2,840 |
| 2021 | 90 | 90 | 6,300 |
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
164 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 105 days – 208 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (96 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 189 days
- Sample
- 96 articles with submission and acceptance dates (183 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)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- HardLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 26 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous 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 7,028 / USD 8,270 / GBP 5,990 | Yes | CC BY, CC0 | |
| OpenAlex | USD 7,990 / EUR 6,790 / GBP 5,790 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 6,890 / GBP 5,590 / EUR 6,490 | Yes | — |
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)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Cover letter
- Required
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2005
- ISSN
- 1744-4292
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 22, Issue 9 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- 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 Molecular Systems Biology
What CAS zone is Molecular Systems Biology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Molecular Systems Biology is in Zone 1 of Biology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; 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 Molecular Systems Biology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 6.73; CiteScore 11.7, h-index 219.
How long does peer review take at Molecular Systems Biology?
Based on the dates recorded on 96 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 164 days (interquartile range 105–208 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Hard”. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Molecular Systems Biology based?
Of the 123 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 7 (about 6%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (47), Germany (21) and Switzerland (11). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Molecular Systems Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Molecular Systems Biology is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Molecular Systems Biology open access, and what is the APC?
Molecular Systems Biology is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 8,270.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .