Journal profile · Biology
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
ISSN 0962-8436 · eISSN 1471-2970 · The Royal Society · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 1934
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 5.23; hybrid open access; median 158 days to acceptance (50 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 440 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences is published by The Royal Society 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 Plant and animal studies, Animal Behavior and Reproduction and Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation, together about 23.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The journal publishes topics across the life sciences. As long as the core subject lies within the biological sciences, some issues may also include content crossing into other areas such as the physical sciences, social sciences, biophysics, policy, economics etc. Issues generally sit within four broad areas (although many issues sit across these areas): Organismal, environmental and evolutionary biology Neuroscience and cognition Cellular, molecular and developmental biology Health and disease.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Biology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.8%
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.2%
- Evolutionary Game Theory and CooperationSocial Sciences6.5%
- Neural dynamics and brain functionNeuroscience5.7%
- Evolution and Genetic DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.5%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science5.1%
- Primate Behavior and EcologyPsychology4.6%
- Genetic diversity and population structureBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.9%
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 | 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 | Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview 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
- 5.23LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.73LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.78LetPub ·
- h-index
- 238LetPub ·
- h-index
- 428OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 8,833OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 9.22OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 1.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 64%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 368LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 10,843 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 323 | 308 | 3,125 |
| 2025 | 440 | 413 | 2,684 |
| 2024 | 363 | 348 | 4,577 |
| 2023 | 444 | 440 | 8,220 |
| 2022 | 440 | 426 | 11,275 |
| 2021 | 425 | 413 | 18,064 |
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
158 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 101 days – 255 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 108 days (50 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 299 days
- Sample
- 50 articles with submission and acceptance dates (756 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)
- 3–6 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1934
- ISSN
- 0962-8436
- Electronic ISSN
- 1471-2970
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
What CAS zone is Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences is in Zone 1 of Biology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category 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 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.23; CiteScore 10.2, h-index 428.
How long does peer review take at Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences?
Based on the dates recorded on 50 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 158 days (interquartile range 101–255 days); authors report an average review time of 3–6 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly 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.
Which databases index Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences open access, and what is the APC?
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences 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, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .