Journal profile · Natural Science Disciplines
Scientific Reports
ISSN 2045-2322 · Springer Nature · England · Continuously updated · Founded 2011
Scientific Reports: CAS Zone 3 · Multidisciplinary (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.86; fully open access; APC about USD 2,850; median 127 days to acceptance (247 articles, last 24 months); 48,741 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Scientific Reports is an open access journal publishing original research from across all areas of the natural sciences, psychology, medicine and engineering. Covers all areas of biology, physics, chemistry, Earth sciences, psychology, medicine, biomedical and clinical sciences, and engineering. Offers our authors a highly respected home for their research High visibility for your work with open access Global influence We offer our authors a highly respected home for their research. Scientific Reports is the 2nd most-cited journal in the world, with more than 1 million citations in 2025*, and receives widespread attention in policy documents and the media. *2025 Journal Citation Reports® Science Edition (Clarivate Analytics, 2026) Expert peer review Partnering with our extensive network of expert peer reviewers, our editorial team provides rigorous, objective and constructive peer review, and will support you throughout the publication process. Scientific Reports is led by the same ethical and editorial policy guidelines as other Nature Portfolio journals to ensure that all the research we publish is scientifically robust, original, and of the highest quality. “The editorial board member assigned to our submission was thorough, supportive, and clearly wanted to produce the best manuscript possible. I was thoroughly impressed." Professor Megan Fuller, Jefferson University, USA Swiftly visible and highly discoverable for all We help your research reach more people and maximize its impact. As an open access journal, we ensure that your work is immediately accessible and highly discoverable across a range of channels including nature.com, where the journal receives approximately 2.8 million visitors per month*. The journal is indexed in Web of Science, PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, Dimensions, Google Scholar, DOAJ and SAO/NASA ADS. *Average monthly figure for 2024 Find out more about Scientific Reports.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Natural Science Disciplines
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.7%
- MicroRNA in disease regulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.3%
- Gut microbiota and healthBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.1%
- Neural dynamics and brain functionNeuroscience4.9%
- Liver Disease Diagnosis and TreatmentMedicine4.8%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.3%
- Epigenetics and DNA MethylationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Multidisciplinary Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Multidisciplinary Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Multidisciplinary Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | 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
Web of SciencePMCPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, Dimensions
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
- 4.86LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.89LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.34LetPub ·
- h-index
- 149LetPub ·
- h-index
- 468OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 173,302OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.18OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.94%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 47,488LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 536,857,704Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 315,222 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 37,715 | 37,715 | 18,656 |
| 2025 | 48,741 | 48,741 | 243,880 |
| 2024 | 32,220 | 32,220 | 351,698 |
| 2023 | 23,148 | 23,148 | 356,188 |
| 2022 | 22,687 | 22,687 | 449,266 |
| 2021 | 24,555 | 24,555 | 647,954 |
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
127 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 92 days – 192 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 11 days (247 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 149 days
- Sample
- 247 articles with submission and acceptance dates (95,341 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)
- 2–3 monthsLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 20 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 | EUR 2,490 / USD 2,850 / GBP 2,290 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,690 / EUR 2,390 / GBP 2,190 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 2,290 / USD 2,850 / EUR 2,490 | 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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review Expert peer review
Partnering with our extensive network of expert peer reviewers, our editorial team provides rigorous, objective and constructive peer review, and will support you throughout the publication process. Scientific Reports is led by the same ethical and editorial policy guidelines as other Nature Portfolio journals to ensure that all the research we publish is scientifically robust, original, and of th…
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
- Springer Nature
- Country or region
- England
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Continuously updated
- Founded
- 2011
- ISSN
- 2045-2322
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- 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 Scientific Reports
What CAS zone is Scientific Reports in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Scientific Reports is in Zone 3 of Multidisciplinary, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Multidisciplinary Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Multidisciplinary. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Scientific Reports?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.86; CiteScore 6.4, h-index 468.
How long does peer review take at Scientific Reports?
Based on the dates recorded on 247 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 127 days (interquartile range 92–192 days); authors report an average review time of 2–3 months. 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 Scientific Reports?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Scientific Reports is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and PMC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Scientific Reports open access, and what is the APC?
Scientific Reports is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,850.
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: .