Journal profile · MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES
PeerJ
ISSN 2167-8359 · PeerJ Inc. · ENGLAND
PeerJ: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.84; fully open access; APC about USD 1,995; median 162 days to acceptance (148 articles, last 24 months); 1,755 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
PeerJ is published by PeerJ Inc. 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 Plant and animal studies, Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies and Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies, together about 18.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
1 PeerJ is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal. It considers articles in biology and life sciences, medicine and health, environmental science, chemistry and materials science, engineering and technology. Articles are published on a continuous schedule with new articles being published Monday-Friday. 2 PeerJ does not publish in the Social Sciences or Humanities (except where articles in those areas have clear applicability to the core areas of science and engineering). 3 PeerJ considers Research Articles, Bioinformatics Software Tools, Systematic Review/Meta-Analyses, Literature Review Articles, Method Articles, Data Reports and Registered Reports. It does not accept Hypothesis Papers, Commentaries, Opinion Pieces, Case Studies, Case Reports, etc. 4 PeerJ evaluates articles based on an objective determination of scientific and methodological soundness, not on subjective determinations of 'impact,' 'novelty' or 'interest'. 5 PeerJ applies the highest standards to everything it does - specifically, the publication places an emphasis on research integrity; high ethical standards; constructive peer-review; exemplary production quality; and leading-edge online functionality. 6 If you are unsure whether or not your article meets our requirements for a particular submission type, please see our discipline standards. 7 PeerJ reserves the right to decline to consider, or publish, any submissions for any reason at any time. This can include those studies that do not have a grounding in established scientific knowledge, or that conflict with PeerJ's core values; or that are found to be outside our scope; or that fail to satisfy any of our technical or editorial policies etc. Read the Instructions for Authors
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Japan 1, Malaysia 1, Mexico 1, Russia 1, Ukraine 1 (5 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.4%
- Genomics and Phylogenetic StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.3%
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems StudiesEnvironmental Science5.8%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science5.5%
- Evolution and Paleontology StudiesEarth and Planetary Sciences5.4%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science4.8%
- Paleontology and Evolutionary BiologyEarth and Planetary Sciences4.8%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science4.6%
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 | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | 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 | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview 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
- 2.84LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.69LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- h-index
- 45LetPub ·
- h-index
- 169OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 11,257OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.56OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.51%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,748LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 21,641 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,253 | 1,253 | 442 |
| 2025 | 1,755 | 1,755 | 4,578 |
| 2024 | 2,021 | 2,021 | 12,890 |
| 2023 | 2,099 | 2,099 | 19,171 |
| 2022 | 1,871 | 1,871 | 24,979 |
| 2021 | 2,119 | 2,119 | 34,340 |
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
162 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 121 days – 203 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 48 days (150 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 220 days
- Sample
- 148 articles with submission and acceptance dates (3,544 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 10 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 10 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 1,995 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,395 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,155 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- If the final typeset page count of your article PDF exceeds 40 pages, an additional service charge (plus local taxes) will be required to help offset the production costs of a manuscript of this size.
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 prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Author–date
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted5
- data reportData ReportLength not stated
- literature reviewAuthor Cover Page (see above) Abstract (see above) Introduction Describe the field and explain why this review is needed. Explain relevance to readers in the fi…Length not stated
- method paperMethod PaperLength not stated
- registered reportRegistered Report GuidanceLength not stated
- research articleResearch ArticleLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright, Peer review
- License & copyright Copyright and Referencing
CC BY licence Model summary
Your article is published under a CC BY licence, so any images or content with a more restrictive licence requires permission and/or referencing. Referencing Reference copyright holders in figure legends. View the referencing examples. 3rd Party Photography Upload a completed photographer's permission letter as a supplementary file.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Criteria
Prior peer reviews considered Model summary
Articles are peer reviewed against criteria which aim to judge whether or not an article should join the Scientific Literature. These criteria are grouped into 3 broad categories: 1 Basic Reporting 2 Experimental Design 3 Validity of the Findings The specific guidelines for each of these categories can be found on the Editorial Criteria page.
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
- PeerJ Inc.
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2167-8359
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- 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 PeerJ
What CAS zone is PeerJ in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, PeerJ is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Multidisciplinary Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of PeerJ?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.84; CiteScore 4.9, h-index 169.
How long does peer review take at PeerJ?
Based on the dates recorded on 148 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 162 days (interquartile range 121–203 days); authors report an average review time of about 10 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of PeerJ?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Author–date; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of PeerJ based?
Of the 5 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Japan (1), Malaysia (1) and Mexico (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index PeerJ?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, PeerJ is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is PeerJ open access, and what is the APC?
PeerJ is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,995.
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: .