Journal profile · Respiratory System
Thorax
ISSN 0040-6376 · eISSN 1468-3296 · BMJ Publishing Group · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 1946
Thorax: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 8.8; hybrid open access; median 144 days to acceptance (65 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 5%; 260 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Thorax is published by BMJ Publishing Group and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research, Asthma and respiratory diseases and Respiratory Support and Mechanisms, together about 33.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Thorax is one of the world's leading respiratory medicine journals, publishing clinical and experimental research articles on respiratory medicine, paediatrics, immunology, pharmacology, pathology, and surgery. Thorax seeks to publish significant advances in scientific understanding, which are likely to impact on clinical practice. This includes articles concerning basic and translational mechanisms with application to clinical material (cell and molecular biology, genetics, epidemiology, and immunology).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Respiratory System
Editor-in-chief Jennifer QuintPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) ResearchMedicine14.3%
- Asthma and respiratory diseasesMedicine12.1%
- Respiratory Support and MechanismsMedicine7.1%
- Interstitial Lung Diseases and Idiopathic Pulmonary FibrosisMedicine5.5%
- Respiratory and Cough-Related ResearchMedicine4.6%
- Lung Cancer Diagnosis and TreatmentMedicine4.5%
- Pleural and Pulmonary DiseasesMedicine4.5%
- Tracheal and airway disordersMedicine4.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Respiratory System | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Respiratory System | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Respiratory System | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Online ISSN: 1468-3296, Print ISSN: 0040-6376Publisher website
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
- 8.8LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 9.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 14.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 14.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.48LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.42LetPub ·
- h-index
- 200LetPub ·
- h-index
- 324OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 10,372OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.8OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 37.62%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 121LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 20,072 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 236 | 88 | 110 |
| 2025 | 260 | 104 | 854 |
| 2024 | 206 | 102 | 1,702 |
| 2023 | 174 | 113 | 3,395 |
| 2022 | 210 | 145 | 4,284 |
| 2021 | 303 | 197 | 9,519 |
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
144 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 94 days – 197 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 55 days (100 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 251 days
- Sample
- 65 articles with submission and acceptance dates (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 2 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 5%LetPub ·
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)
Article types accepted3
- original researchThorax accepts submissions of a wide range of article types, including original research, state of the art reviews and protocols.Length not stated
- protocolsThorax accepts submissions of a wide range of article types, including original research, state of the art reviews and protocols.Length not stated
- state of the art reviewsThorax accepts submissions of a wide range of article types, including original research, state of the art reviews and protocols.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access
Editorial policies and open access information provided in Author Information section Model summary
Information is also provided on editorial policies and open access.
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
- BMJ Publishing Group
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1946
- ISSN
- 0040-6376
- Electronic ISSN
- 1468-3296
- Society / sponsor
- British Thoracic Society
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Thorax
What CAS zone is Thorax in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Thorax is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Respiratory System; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Thorax?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 8.8; CiteScore 14.4, h-index 324.
How long does peer review take at Thorax?
Based on the dates recorded on 65 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 144 days (interquartile range 94–197 days); authors report an average review time of about 2 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 5%”. 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 Thorax?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Thorax is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Thorax open access, and what is the APC?
Thorax 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: .