Top 20 Biochemistry Journals of 2022

Whether you are trying to decide where to publish your research findings, searching for a thought-provoking publication to share at journal club, or simply interested in exploring the latest literature, this article is likely to help you to achieve your aims. We have outlined the rankings of the best journals from the field of Biochemistry according to impact factor, Google’s h5-index, and the scoring system of the research group SCImago.

Note that this article focuses on the “general” rankings of scientific journals related to Biochemistry. If you would prefer to consider the rankings of journals dedicated to particular sub-topics within the field then this article may not satisfy your needs.

If the accessibility of a journal is of importance to you, keep in mind that the journals we have listed may not have open access status.

Historically, quantitative metrics such as impact factor have provided an objective method for comparing the relative influence and prestige of competing journals. However, the quality of a journal should be assessed holistically and not be based on metrics alone.

In addition to considering the data in this article, we encourage you to visit the website of each journal where you can learn about its purpose and scope, editorial board and practices, and detailed metrics beyond impact factor, which will better inform your search.

Google ranks scientific journals using the h5-index, an index that considers publications in the journal over the past 5 years and that is intended to take into account both the number and quality of publications.

Google’s h5-index value is calculated to maximize both the number of published papers and the number of citations. According to wikipedia, the “h-index is defined as the maximum value of h such that the given author/journal has published h papers that have each been cited at least h times.”

SCImago, a data science and visualization research group from Spain, has also ranked the top journals in Biochemistry. Their most recent release is for the year 2021.

The SCImago Journal Ranking (SJR) considers not only the number of citations but also the relative prestige of the citation sources, with greater rank enhancement provided by citations from high prestige journals. The SJR is normalized to 1 with an SJR greater than 1 indicating “above average” citation potential.

Data regarding the impact factor of each journal represents the current two-year impact factor as identified by the Journal Citation Reports. Check out our article on the history, definition, and implications of impact factor for more information on the metric.

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Top 20 Biochemistry Journals Ranked by Google (2022)

1. Nucleic Acids Research – h5-index: 233
2. Molecular Cell – h5-index: 143
3. The EMBO Journal – h5-index: 101
4. Journal of Biological Chemistry – h5-index: 98
5. Nature Chemical Biology – h5-index: 97
6. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology – h5-index: 90
7. Redox Biology – h5-index: 84
8. Molecular Biology of the Cell – h5-index: 83
9. Free Radical Biology and Medicine – h5-index: 82
10. Trends in Biochemical Sciences – h5-index: 81
11. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications – h5-index: 76
12. FEBS Journal – h5-index: 73
13. Annual Review of Biochemistry – h5-index: 72
14. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA): Molecular Cell Research – h5-index: 67
15. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology – h5-index: 66
16. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling – h5-index: 65
17. Matrix Biology – h5-index: 62
18. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry – h5-index: 62
19. Cell Chemical Biology – h5-index: 61
20. Biochemical Journal – h5-index: 60

Top 20 Biochemistry Journals Ranked by SCImago (2021)

1. Annual Review of Biochemistry – Journal Ranking: 13.085
2. Nature Catalysis – Journal Ranking: 12.887
3. Nature Methods – Journal Ranking: 12.115
4. Annual Review of Biophysics – Journal Ranking: 7.164
5. Chem – Journal Ranking: 6.073
6. Journal of the American Chemical Society – Journal Ranking: 5.728
7. Current Protocols in Bioinformatics – Journal Ranking: 5.626
8. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Molecular Science – Journal Ranking: 4.903
9. Blood – Journal Ranking: 4.834
10. Protein Science – Journal Ranking: 4.602
11. Cell Discovery – Journal Ranking: 4.248
12. PLoS Medicine – Journal Ranking: 4.180
13. Trends in Biochemical Sciences – Journal Ranking: 4.093
14. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: RNA – Journal Ranking: 4.056
15. Bioinformatics – Journal Ranking: 3.400
16. Molecular Aspects of Medicine – Journal Ranking: 3.226
17. EMBO Reports – Journal Ranking: 3.180
18. Science Signaling – Journal Ranking: 3.140
19. Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology – Journal Ranking: 2.999
20. IUCrJ – Journal Ranking: 2.873

Top 50 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Journals Ranked by Impact Factor (2022)

1. Nature Medicine – Impact Factor: 53.440
2. Cell – Impact Factor: 41.584
3. Molecular Cancer – Impact Factor: 27.401
4. Annual Review of Biochemistry – Impact Factor: 23.643
5. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy – Impact Factor: 18.187
6. Molecular Cell – Impact Factor: 17.970
7. Trends in Microbiology – Impact Factor: 17.079
8. Nucleic Acids Research – Impact Factor: 16.971
9. Molecular Biology and Evolution – Impact Factor: 16.240
10. Molecular Psychiatry – Impact Factor: 15.992
11. Cell Death and Differentiation – Impact Factor: 15.828
12. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology – Impact Factor: 15.369
13. Progress in Lipid Research – Impact Factor: 15.136
14. Nature Chemical Biology – Impact Factor: 15.040
15. Molecular Aspects of Medicine – Impact Factor: 14.235
16. Trends in Biochemical Sciences – Impact Factor: 13.807
17. Natural Product Reports – Impact Factor: 13.423
18. Molecular Plant – Impact Factor: 13.164
19. Advances in Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biochemistry – Impact Factor: 12.200
20. Trends in Molecular Medicine – Impact Factor: 11.951
21. Redox Biology – Impact Factor: 11.799
22. EMBO Journal – Impact Factor: 11.598
23. Matrix Biology – Impact Factor: 11.583
24. Molecular Systems Biology – Impact Factor: 11.429
25. Plant Cell – Impact Factor: 11.277
26. Current Biology – Impact Factor: 10.834
27. Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta: Reviews on Cancer – Impact Factor: 10.680
28. Cell Systems – Impact Factor: 10.304
29. Oncogene – Impact Factor: 9.867
30. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences – Impact Factor: 9.261
31. Genome Research – Impact Factor: 9.043
32. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology – Impact Factor: 8.822
33. EMBO Reports – Impact Factor: 8.807
34. Experimental and Molecular Medicine – Impact Factor: 8.718
35. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling – Impact Factor: 8.401
36. Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology – Impact Factor: 8.250
37. Science Signaling – Impact Factor: 8.218
38. Cell Chemical Biology – Impact Factor: 8.116
39. PLoS Biology – Impact Factor: 8.029
40. Essays in Biochemistry – Impact Factor: 8.000
41. Bioinorganic Chemistry and Applications – Impact Factor: 7.778
42. Acta Crystallographica Section D: Structural Biology – Impact Factor: 7.652
43. Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews – Impact Factor: 7.638
44. Free Radical Biology and Medicine – Impact Factor: 7.376
45. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal – Impact Factor: 7.271
46. Amyloid: Journal of Protein Folding Disorders – Impact Factor: 7.141
47. Cell and Bioscience – Impact Factor: 7.133
48. Genes & Diseases – Impact Factor: 7.103
49. Molecular Ecology Resources – Impact Factor: 7.090
50. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology – Impact Factor: 7.061

Interested in learning about the rankings of journals from other fields? Consider checking out our other journal rankings.

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