Fastest-accepting molecular biology journals 2026

352 molecular biology journals ranked by the median number of days from submission to acceptance, measured from the dates publishers deposit in PubMed for articles published 2024–2025. The interval includes peer review and revisions.

Journals: 352
Typical median: 115 d
Under 60 days: 29
Over 180 days: 38

Read this before using the ranking

Accepted papers only. Rejected manuscripts never receive an acceptance date, so these figures say nothing about desk-rejection speed, rejection rates or your chance of acceptance.
Not the time to a first decision. The interval runs from the “received” date to the “accepted” date the publisher deposits in PubMed. It includes editorial handling, peer review, every round of revision and the time authors spent revising.
Journals record dates differently. Some reset the received date when a revised manuscript arrives, and manuscripts transferred from another journal may keep or lose their earlier dates. Short medians are therefore not always comparable with long ones.
Past timelines are not a promise. Each figure comes from up to 100 recent articles published 2024–2025. Article types, special issues, editors and workload all change, and your paper may take much longer or much less time.
Fast is not the same as good. Check the journal’s scope, indexing, peer-review policy and editorial board before submitting. An unusually quick acceptance can be a warning sign of light peer review.

Journal Metrics is independent and is not affiliated with any journal or publisher listed. The figures are for information only, may contain errors and change as PubMed records are updated. Confirm current timelines on the journal’s own website. See how to spot predatory journals.

Molecular Biology journals by median days from submission to acceptance

Molecular Biology journals ranked by median days from submission to acceptance in PubMed
Rank	Journal	Median days	Middle half	Articles	Quartile	2026 score
1	Advances in Biological Regulation	13†	8–25	69	Q3	2.0
2	Doklady Biochemistry and Biophysics	18†	12–27	100	Q4	1.0
3	Global Medical Genetics	26†	19–41	44	Q2	2.9
4	CURRENT ISSUES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY	28†	24–37	100	Q2	4.2
5	Genes	29†	19–37	100	Q1	3.2
6	Life-Basel	32	25–40	100	Q1	3.5
7	Metabolites	34	26–47	100	Q1	4.1
8	ACTA HISTOCHEMICA ET CYTOCHEMICA	35	16–96	43	Q2	2.1
9	Biomedicines	38	27–45	100	Q1	4.7
9	Biomolecules	38	29–52	100	Q1	6.0
11	Antibodies	41	33–59	100	Q1	3.1
12	BioTech	45	35–57	100	Q2	3.8
13	Biomolecular NMR Assignments	46	34–68	95	Q3	1.0
13	Redox Biology	46	27–68	95	Q1	13.2
15	iMeta	48	29–85	100	Q1	22.0
16	Cell Insight	49	36–81	75	Q1	6.2
17	TRENDS IN PHARMACOLOGICAL SCIENCES	50	25–82	100	Q1	10.1
18	PLANT CELL REPORTS	51	35–83	99	Q1	5.0
19	Methods and Protocols	52	43–61	100	Q3	2.1
20	BIOSCIENCE BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY	54	42–83	100	Q3	1.6
21	Epigenomes	55	40–70	98	Q2	4.1
21	Advanced Biotechnology	55	42–71	70	Q1	8.7
21	CURRENT OPINION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY	55	28–92	100	Q1	7.7
24	BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS	56	10–78	98	Q1	2.5
25	Bio-protocol	57	47–64	100	Q4	0.8
26	TRENDS IN GENETICS	59	38–81	100	Q1	6.7
26	BioDesign Research	59	48–81	59	Q1	8.4
28	BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY	60	47–76	100	Q2	2.9
28	Non-Coding RNA	60	47–78	100	Q2	4.0
28	ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters	60	41–92	99	Q2	2.0
28	Biophysics and Physicobiology	60	33–105	95	Q4	1.0
32	Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences	61	38–98	100	Q1	4.0
33	GENES TO CELLS	63	33–132	100	Q3	1.5
34	Journal of Developmental Biology	64	49–86	77	Q3	1.9
35	Proteomes	65	46–87	100	Q1	4.0
35	Stem Cell Reviews and Reports	65	43–103	68	Q1	4.1
37	PROTEIN EXPRESSION AND PURIFICATION	66	48–86	100	Q2	1.9
37	BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS	66	53–92	100	Q3	2.1
37	Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology	66	43–97	100	Q1	4.5
37	JOURNAL OF PEPTIDE SCIENCE	66	43–98	99	Q1	2.9
41	Function	67	28–97	95	Q2	3.1
42	Plant Biotechnology	68	50–102	99	Q2	1.9
43	G3-Genes Genomes Genetics	69	37–98	99	Q2	2.8
44	JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE BIOLOGY	70	51–101	61	Q3	2.1
44	ARCHIVES OF MICROBIOLOGY	70	53–108	99	Q1	3.8
46	JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY	71	54–86	100	Q1	4.0
46	Journal of Cancer Prevention	71	27–92	41	Q2	1.8
46	FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE	71	47–101	100	Q1	3.5
46	BBA Advances	71	57–106	58	Q2	3.9
46	CURRENT OPINION IN CHEMICAL BIOLOGY	71	53–125	99	Q1	7.9
51	Journal of Oral Biosciences	72	40–113	100	Q2	2.0
52	Acta Crystallographica Section F-Structural Biology Communications	73	55–102	92	Q4	1.1
53	Frontiers in Bioinformatics	74	57–106	100	Q1	2.2
53	Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology	74	51–116	100	Q1	4.4
55	Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology	76	56–91	100	Q1	3.9
55	AMB Express	76	59–108	99	Q2	3.9
55	Biology Direct	76	45–112	100	Q1	4.0
55	IN VITRO CELLULAR & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY-ANIMAL	76	53–116	99	Q2	2.1
55	NAUNYN-SCHMIEDEBERGS ARCHIVES OF PHARMACOLOGY	76	44–139	100	Q1	3.2
60	TRENDS IN BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCES	78	24–100	100	Q1	7.6
60	MOLECULES AND CELLS	78	49–103	100	Q1	6.2
60	BIOPHYSICAL CHEMISTRY	78	57–107	100	Q2	2.5
60	Essays in Biochemistry	78	53–110	99	Q1	5.6
60	JOURNAL OF MUSCLE RESEARCH AND CELL MOTILITY	78	47–110	57	Q2	2.5
60	BIOPOLYMERS	78	49–114	97	Q3	2.6
60	RSC Chemical Biology	78	51–117	100	Q3	2.4
60	PLANT CELL	78	13–118	91	Q1	10.5
68	Biomolecules & Therapeutics	79	43–101	94	Q1	3.5
68	Biology Methods & Protocols	79	44–110	98	Q2	3.8
68	IUBMB LIFE	79	55–120	98	Q3	2.7
71	Cell Regeneration	80	62–117	75	Q1	4.6
71	JOURNAL OF BIOENERGETICS AND BIOMEMBRANES	80	59–124	84	Q1	3.3
71	METHODS	80	53–128	100	Q2	3.6
74	Fitoterapia	81	61–109	100	Q2	2.8
74	JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MICROBIOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY	81	62–110	84	Q1	5.3
74	FEBS LETTERS	81	53–112	93	Q3	2.8
77	CURRENT OPINION IN STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY	82	61–101	100	Q1	8.2
77	Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal	82	58–108	100	Q1	5.9
77	CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY	82	61–110	100	Q1	6.3
77	Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts	82	66–111	100	Q1	8.9
77	CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS OF LIPIDS	82	57–112	77	Q2	2.2
77	ANALYTICAL BIOCHEMISTRY	82	54–130	62	Q2	3.3
83	Journal of Pharmacological Sciences	83	62–117	99	Q1	2.8
83	IET Systems Biology	83	54–122	76	Q4	1.3
83	JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY	83	63–124	100	Q1	4.6
83	Protein & Cell	83	45–126	89	Q1	7.7
83	BIOSYSTEMS	83	60–129	99	Q2	2.2
88	PROTEIN AND PEPTIDE LETTERS	84	61–107	98	Q2	3.6
88	GENE	84	60–121	95	Q2	2.9
88	BIOLOGICAL PROCEDURES ONLINE	84	52–123	89	Q1	3.4
91	NEUROCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL	85	63–115	100	Q1	5.2
91	COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY	85	61–133	100	Q1	2.9
93	ACS Bio & Med Chem Au	87	66–109	100	Q1	2.7
94	MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REPORTS	88	65–125	98	Q2	3.1
94	Microbial Physiology	88	50–148	24	Q1	3.6
94	Cells & Development	88	59–152	98	Q1	4.5
97	ENZYME AND MICROBIAL TECHNOLOGY	89	68–119	100	Q2	2.7
97	GENESIS	89	66–122	64	Q3	1.4
97	HUMAN MOLECULAR GENETICS	89	56–143	95	Q2	3.0
97	Stem Cell Research	89	51–149	100	Q4	0.7

Median days: half of the journal’s accepted articles took less time from submission to acceptance and half took more. Middle half: the 25th to 75th percentile. Articles: how many recent PubMed articles had both dates. Journals with the same rounded median share a rank.

Median under 30 days. Very short intervals usually reflect how a journal records its dates (for example a new received date after revision) or invited and fast-track article types such as reviews and editorials, not unusually quick peer review. Check the journal’s peer-review policy before reading anything into them.

Showing the 100 fastest of 352 molecular biology journals. Every journal’s figure is on its own page and in the acceptance times dataset.

Questions about molecular biology journal acceptance times

Which molecular biology journals accept papers fastest?

Among the 352 molecular biology journals with enough PubMed dates, the shortest median times from submission to acceptance (leaving out medians under 30 days, which usually reflect how dates are recorded) are Life-Basel (32 days), Metabolites (34 days), ACTA HISTOCHEMICA ET CYTOCHEMICA (35 days), Biomedicines (38 days), Biomolecules (38 days). These medians include peer review and revisions, and cover accepted papers only.

How long does a molecular biology journal take to accept a paper?

The typical molecular biology journal on this page has a median of 115 days from submission to acceptance. 29 of 352 journals have a median under 60 days and 38 take more than 180 days.

Is this the peer review time?

No. PubMed records when a manuscript was received and when it was accepted, not the individual review stages. The interval includes editorial handling, peer review, revisions and the time authors spent revising, so it is longer than the time to a first decision. For first-decision times, check the journal’s own website.

Does a fast journal mean my paper is more likely to be accepted?

No. Only accepted papers have an acceptance date, so this ranking says nothing about acceptance rates or how quickly a journal rejects papers. A very fast acceptance can also be a sign of light peer review. Check the journal’s scope, indexing and peer-review policy before submitting.

About this data

Source: the received and accepted dates publishers deposit in PubMed, read through the public NCBI E-utilities for articles published 2024-01-01 to 2025-12-31, up to 100 recent articles per journal. Data checked 2026-11-03.
A journal is ranked only when at least 20 articles have both dates and at least half of the articles checked have them. Journals that do not deposit dates in PubMed, including most journals outside the life sciences, cannot be ranked here.
The ranking uses each journal’s median: half of its accepted articles took less time and half took more. The middle-half range shows the 25th to 75th percentile.
Fields come from the OpenAlex classification of each journal’s research topics. A journal joins a field when at least two of its four main topics are in it, so a journal can appear in more than one field and some classifications are imperfect.
Quartile and score are the journal’s best OpenAlex subfield quartile and its Journal Metrics Score, shown for context; they play no part in the order.

The full journal-level dataset is in the journal acceptance times study (with a CSV download). Spot an error or a journal whose dates look wrong? Tell us.

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