Fastest-accepting radiology journals 2026

93 radiology 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: 93
Typical median: 113 d
Under 60 days: 8
Over 180 days: 10

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.

Radiology journals by median days from submission to acceptance

Radiology journals ranked by median days from submission to acceptance in PubMed
Rank	Journal	Median days	Middle half	Articles	Quartile	2026 score
1	SEMINARS IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE	6†	4–13	96	Q1	6.7
2	Diagnostics	34	28–46	100	Q1	3.6
3	NUCLEAR MEDICINE REVIEW	37	20–63	38	Q4	0.4
4	Ophthalmology Retina	42	17–95	100	Q2	2.2
5	Emergency Radiology	48	38–57	100	Q2	1.3
6	Tomography	51	40–67	99	Q1	2.9
6	Journal of Clinical Imaging Science	51	31–112	94	Q3	1.4
8	EJNMMI Radiopharmacy and Chemistry	52	38–68	99	Q1	3.9
9	Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology	61	21–89	93	Q2	1.6
9	ACADEMIC RADIOLOGY	61	41–99	100	Q1	3.2
11	International Journal of Retina and Vitreous	62	47–82	100	Q1	2.9
11	Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging	62	36–92	100	Q1	6.2
13	Abdominal Radiology	63	42–85	100	Q2	2.3
14	Frontiers in Nuclear Medicine	65	49–98	67	Q1	3.2
15	SA Journal of Radiology	68	58–102	53	Q3	0.9
15	EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND MOLECULAR IMAGING	68	40–103	100	Q1	4.6
17	Journal of the American College of Radiology	70	19–94	100	Q2	2.3
18	ANNALS OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE	75	58–100	100	Q2	2.1
18	European Journal of Radiology Open	75	59–107	100	Q2	2.7
18	Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging	75	47–122	99	Q2	1.7
21	Japanese Journal of Radiology	76	52–102	100	Q1	3.5
22	JOURNAL OF LABELLED COMPOUNDS & RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS	80	57–147	85	Q4	0.6
23	JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING	81	65–101	100	Q2	2.3
23	World Journal of Radiology	81	57–116	100	Q3	1.4
25	Indian Journal of Nuclear Medicine	83	60–114	100	Q4	0.4
26	CLINICAL NUCLEAR MEDICINE	87	53–94	100	Q2	1.8
26	NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY	87	60–110	99	Q3	0.8
26	NUCLEAR MEDICINE COMMUNICATIONS	87	59–117	72	Q3	1.1
29	Ophthalmologie	90	57–133	72	Q4	0.5
30	CORNEA	92	63–119	90	Q2	2.0
30	International Journal of Particle Therapy	92	61–131	85	Q4	0.2
32	MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING	94	73–126	100	Q2	2.2
32	Clinical Imaging	94	76–128	100	Q2	2.0
34	Radiological Physics and Technology	96	75–136	100	Q2	1.5
34	Frontiers in Neuroimaging	96	78–143	69	Q2	1.9
36	Current Medical Imaging	97	62–125	98	Q3	1.2
36	Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology	97	62–168	100	Q4	0.9
38	Radiography	99	72–126	98	Q2	2.1
39	Radiology Advances	100	70–132	59	Q2	2.4
40	PEDIATRIC RADIOLOGY	101	70–130	100	Q2	1.5
41	RADIOTHERAPY AND ONCOLOGY	103	70–146	100	Q4	0.7
42	Journal of Medical Physics	110	77–143	100	Q3	1.2
42	EJNMMI Research	110	81–149	100	Q2	2.4
44	KOREAN JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY	111	73–169	100	Q1	4.5
45	Zeitschrift fur Medizinische Physik	112	79–154	100	Q3	1.0
46	JAPANESE JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY	113	75–148	100	Q2	2.2
46	JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE	113	80–153	92	Q1	6.5
46	Medical Dosimetry	113	70–164	100	Q3	0.8
46	CANCER IMAGING	113	71–179	99	Q1	4.9
50	JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR CARDIOLOGY	115	86–162	96	Q3	1.5
51	JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED TOMOGRAPHY	117	75–153	98	Q3	1.1
51	NeuroImage-Clinical	117	82–167	100	Q1	3.5
53	Acta Radiologica Open	119	58–158	53	Q4	0.9
53	Current Radiopharmaceuticals	119	83–160	65	Q2	1.8
55	Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics	124	89–167	100	Q1	2.2
55	BMC MEDICAL IMAGING	124	84–218	100	Q1	3.7
57	MAGNETIC RESONANCE MATERIALS IN PHYSICS BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE	125	96–161	100	Q2	2.6
58	MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE	126	98–150	100	Q2	2.7
58	Contact Lens & Anterior Eye	126	77–161	100	Q1	2.7
60	Ocular Surface	131	99–173	100	Q1	4.4
61	Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology	132	84–232	99	Q3	1.3
62	EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY	133	92–196	100	Q1	3.4
63	Dose-Response	135	101–177	99	Q2	1.9
63	Visual Computing for Industry Biomedicine and Art	135	108–198	57	Q1	5.8
65	GRAEFES ARCHIVE FOR CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY	139	105–194	100	Q2	2.2
66	European Radiology Experimental	140	112–175	100	Q1	5.2
66	MOLECULAR IMAGING AND BIOLOGY	140	106–197	100	Q2	2.1
68	Insights into Imaging	141	92–190	100	Q1	5.9
69	Journal of Medical Imaging	143	118–183	97	Q2	1.8
69	NEUROIMAGE	143	98–204	99	Q1	4.0
71	RADIATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL BIOPHYSICS	148	95–232	100	Q2	1.6
72	COMPUTERIZED MEDICAL IMAGING AND GRAPHICS	149	107–185	100	Q1	5.4
72	JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE	149	104–202	100	Q4	0.6
74	EUROPEAN RADIOLOGY	154	123–187	100	Q1	4.7
74	Advances in Radiation Oncology	154	115–202	100	Q2	1.6
76	Radiologia Medica	166	114–220	100	Q1	4.1
76	Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences	166	110–222	94	Q3	1.3
78	Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery	167	122–238	100	Q3	1.7
79	CLINICAL RADIOLOGY	170	120–266	100	Q3	1.6
80	EJNMMI Physics	173	126–238	100	Q1	3.2
81	Therapeutic Advances in Ophthalmology	174	123–223	65	Q3	1.4
82	Physica Medica-European Journal of Medical Physics	176	141–222	100	Q4	0.7
83	BRITISH JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY	177	129–238	98	Q1	2.5
84	MEDICAL PHYSICS	182	127–251	100	Q1	2.6
85	HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING	185	140–231	100	Q1	4.7
86	International Journal of Biomedical Imaging	186	131–254	42	Q1	4.0
87	JOURNAL OF GLAUCOMA	187	120–264	100	Q2	2.2
88	Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine	191	131–252	100	Q1	2.2
89	Ultrasound International Open	192	142–308	24	Q1	2.7
90	NMR IN BIOMEDICINE	198	119–265	100	Q2	2.3
91	BJR Open	208	142–283	81	Q3	1.1
92	Imaging Neuroscience	228	158–317	100	Q1	3.7
93	MEDICAL IMAGE ANALYSIS	262	167–397	100	Q1	10.3

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.

Questions about radiology journal acceptance times

Which radiology journals accept papers fastest?

Among the 93 radiology 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 Diagnostics (34 days), NUCLEAR MEDICINE REVIEW (37 days), Ophthalmology Retina (42 days), Emergency Radiology (48 days), Tomography (51 days). These medians include peer review and revisions, and cover accepted papers only.

How long does a radiology journal take to accept a paper?

The typical radiology journal on this page has a median of 113 days from submission to acceptance. 8 of 93 journals have a median under 60 days and 10 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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