Journal profile · Evolutionary Biology
Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
ISSN 0962-8452 · eISSN 1471-2954 · The Royal Society · ENGLAND · Semimonthly
Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences: CAS Zone 2 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 3.6; hybrid open access; median 141 days to acceptance (19 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 605 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences is published by The Royal Society and is in Zone 2 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Animal Behavior and Reproduction, Plant and animal studies and Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior, together about 34.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Genetics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Royal Society's flagship biological research journal dedicated to the fast publication and worldwide dissemination of high-quality research.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Evolutionary Biology
Editor-in-chief Philip DonoghuePublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Hong Kong, China 5, Australia 2, Taiwan, China 1, France 1, Mexico 1 (13 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences14.3%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences13.8%
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.5%
- Evolution and Genetic DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.1%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science4.4%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science4.4%
- Evolutionary Game Theory and CooperationSocial Sciences4%
- 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 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Evolutionary Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Evolutionary 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 | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Evolutionary 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
- 3.6LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.41LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.49LetPub ·
- h-index
- 221LetPub ·
- h-index
- 404OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 16,787OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.08OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 61.82%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 549LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 20,445 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 429 | 428 | 245 |
| 2025 | 605 | 560 | 1,676 |
| 2024 | 562 | 562 | 4,596 |
| 2023 | 571 | 571 | 7,493 |
| 2022 | 573 | 573 | 10,766 |
| 2021 | 628 | 627 | 16,773 |
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
141 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 119 days – 234 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 33 days (19 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 176 days
- Sample
- 19 articles with submission and acceptance dates (110 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 1 monthLetPub ·
- 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.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship
- Authorship Extinction debt and colonization credit in conservation science
Katy L. Rylance, Steven Sait et al. Extinction debt and colonization credit describe the delayed impacts of environmental change on biodiversity, yet their significance largely remains unrecognized by those shaping conservation ...
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
- The Royal Society
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semimonthly
- ISSN
- 0962-8452
- Electronic ISSN
- 1471-2954
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
What CAS zone is Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences is in Zone 2 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Biology / Ecology / Evolutionary Biology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.6; CiteScore 6.1, h-index 404.
How long does peer review take at Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences?
Based on the dates recorded on 19 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 141 days (interquartile range 119–234 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences based?
Of the 13 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Hong Kong, China (5), Australia (2) and Taiwan, China (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences open access, and what is the APC?
Proceedings 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, 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: .