What is the Impact Factor of Biology Letters?

According to the latest Clarivate Journal Citation Reports (JCR), the Journal Impact Factor of Biology Letters is 2.70, ranking in quartile Q2 of Web of Science (SCIE).

Is Biology Letters indexed in Web of Science or Scopus?

Yes, Biology Letters is indexed in Web of Science (SCIE, Q2 quartile). Furthermore, in Scopus (SCImago), it holds an SJR rating of 0.982 (Q1) and an H-index of 148.

Who publishes Biology Letters and what is the Article Processing Charge (APC)?

Biology Letters is published by The Royal Society. The estimated Article Processing Charge (APC) is approximately $3,435 USD, subject to institutional waivers and corresponding author affiliations.

What is the ISO-4 abbreviation and acronym of Biology Letters?

The official ISO-4 abbreviation of Biology Letters is "BIOL. LETT" with common acronym "bl". This standardized title abbreviation is used in citation lists conforming to IEEE, APA, Harvard, or Vancouver styles.

WoS SCIE Q2Scopus Q1SCImago #5,037Top JournalHybrid

Biology Letters

Acronym:bl

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Abbreviation (ISO):BIOL. LETT

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Identifier (ISSN):1744-9561(Print)/1744-957X(Online)

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Publisher:The Royal Society

Official Website Submission Portal Compare

Clarivate IF (2026)

2.7↓ -0.3

Journal Impact Factor

IF Trend↓

WoS Quartile

WoS SCIETop Tier

Clarivate WoS JCR

WoS Categories↓

JCR Release Date: 2026-06-17

Impact Factor Trend (2018–2026)

Clarivate IF trend for Biology Letters

WoS Q2

Annual Impact Factor Metric

Current (2026):2.7

Scopus SJR & RankScopus Q1

0.982

#5,037

SCImago Journal Rank citation prestige weighting

Scopus Year: 2025

H-Index (2025)

148

148 papers with at least that number of citations each

WoS: SCIE / JCRTop Tier

Self-Citation Rate3.6%

Safe Level (< 15%)Warning Level (> 20%)

Self-citation below 15% indicates strong scholarly independence.

Volume & Open AccessHybrid

156articles/year

59.04% Gold OA•93.82% Original Research

Aims & Scope

Previously a supplement to Proceedings B, and launched as an independent journal in 2005, Biology Letters is a primarily online, peer-reviewed journal that publishes short, high-quality articles, reviews and opinion pieces from across the biological sciences. The scope of Biology Letters is vast - publishing high-quality research in any area of the biological sciences. However, we have particular strengths in the biology, evolution and ecology of whole organisms. We also publish in other areas of biology, such as molecular ecology and evolution, environmental science, and phylogenetics.

Topics Covered (Recognized by AI)

Biology99.8%Ecology85.4%Geology64.1%Medicine60.8%Paleontology56.9%Zoology55.3%Genetics52.2%Chemistry43.9%Sociology40.9%Biochemistry37%Evolutionary biology34.7%Botany34.1%Physics33.9%Demography32.8%Environmental health31.5%Population31.1%Psychology29.7%Computer science29.6%Gene27.2%Fishery23.2%

Primary Research Areas

Biology Evolutionary Biology

Official Website NLM PubMed Catalog Submission Portal SCImago Profile

0 calls

Special Issues

Calls for Papers

No active Calls for Papers found for this journal.

Expand

WoS Categories & Quartiles

Detailed JCR / JCI category rankings and quartile breakdown from Clarivate

Clarivate JCR & JCI

JCRSCIE2026

BIOLOGY

Rank33/106

IndexSCIE

JCRSCIE2026

ECOLOGY

Rank86/205

IndexSCIE

JCRSCIE2026

EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

Rank21/54

IndexSCIE

JCISCIE2026

BIOLOGY

Rank28/106

IndexSCIE

JCISCIE2026

ECOLOGY

Rank75/205

IndexSCIE

JCISCIE2026

EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

Rank28/54

IndexSCIE

Category	Index	Rank	Quartile
BIOLOGY	JCRSCIE	33/106	Q2
ECOLOGY	JCRSCIE	86/205	Q2
EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY	JCRSCIE	21/54	Q2
BIOLOGY	JCISCIE	28/106	Q2
ECOLOGY	JCISCIE	75/205	Q2
EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY	JCISCIE	28/54	Q3

Annual Historical Statistics & Publications

Track annual publication volume, total citations, and Impact Factor evolution

12 year

2026Latest

IF2.7

Articles / Year143

Total Citations70

2025

IF3

Articles / Year213

Total Citations715

2024

IF2.8

Articles / Year177

Total Citations1,169

2023

IF3.3

Articles / Year179

Total Citations1,938

2022

IF3.812

Articles / Year190

Total Citations3,022

Year	Impact Factor	Articles / Year	Total Citations
2026	2.7	143	70
2025	3	213	715
2024	2.8	177	1,169
2023	3.3	179	1,938
2022	3.812	190	3,022
2021	3.703	171	3,350
2020	2.869	211	5,374
2019	3.323	235	7,684
2018	3.345	221	8,691
2017	—	180	6,482
2016	—	286	13,782
2015	—	231	10,577

SCImago & Scopus Journal Intelligence

Global SCImago ranking, SJR prestige index, Scopus coverage, and societal policy impact

Rank #5,037Scopus Q1SCImago Profile

Scopus Coverage:2005-2026

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Scopus Broad Areas:Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Scopus Citation Rank (SJR)Q1

0.982

Weighted prestige citation metric per document indexed in the Scopus database.

Quartile: Scopus Q1

Citations / Doc (2 years)

2.59

Average citations received per document published in the 2-year window.

2-Year Citation Window

Estimated Publication Fee (APC)

$3,435 USD

Estimated Article Processing Charge for Open Access publication.

Estimated cost / article

Scopus 3-Year Publication & Citation Window

3-Year Citations1,525

3-Year Documents537

Citable Documents519

Aggregated from Scopus database across the 3-year SJR evaluation window.

Societal Impact & Inclusivity (SCImago)

Policy Citations (Overton)3

Citations in government and international policy documents

Female Author Rate35.6%

Percentage of female authors published in the journal

Real-world societal policy reach and author gender diversity tracked by SCImago.

Scopus Subject Categories

Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)Q1

Academic Metric Intelligence

Journal Metrics & Citation Visualizations

Total Cites vs Self-Cites

Evaluation of scholarly independence and citation reach

Total citations steady growth

Self-citation: 3.6%

Citations per Document

Citation metric windows across 2, 3, and 4 years

Cites / Doc (4 years)Cites / Doc (3 years)Cites / Doc (2 years)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Classification

Major / minor zone classification and CAS Early Warning List history

Major Category (Broad Field):

2区 (Zone 2)Biology

Minor Category (Specific Field):

2区BIOLOGY

CAS Early Warning List History:

Updated annually: 2020 – 2024

2020

Not warned

2021

Not warned

2022

Not warned

2023

Not warned

2024

Not warned

Academic Intelligence Overview & Context

ImpaQ Analysis

Biology Letters (acronym: bl, abbr: BIOL. LETT, ISSN: 1744-9561) is a peer-reviewed international scholarly journal in the field of Biology, published by The Royal Society in England since 2005. The periodical holds a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 2.70, ranking in quartile Q2 of Web of Science (SCIE), a Scopus SJR indicator of 0.982 (Q1), an H-index of 148.

The journal enforces rigorous peer evaluation with a publication frequency of Bimonthly, an annual output of approximately 156 scientific articles. In terms of accessibility and author fees, it operates under the Hybrid model with an estimated APC of $3,435 USD. It serves as a benchmark publication platform for academics, researchers, and doctoral candidates seeking global research visibility.