Chinese Medicine: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 1749-8546 · ISSN 1991-0150 · BioMed Central · Medicine

Half of the articles Chinese Medicine accepted in 2025 were accepted within 111 days of submission (n = 255); the middle half took 80–148 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
111 days median
middle half 80–148 · n = 255
Acceptance → online
24 days median
middle half 15–40 · n = 255
Change since 2023
Slower than 2023: the median rose from 88 to 111 days (90% CI +12 to +34 days).
Open access · fees
Open access (DOAJ) · $3,090

Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026

Plan submissions to a deadline — free

How long does Chinese Medicine take to accept a paper?

days045901351802020: middle half 59–104 days832020n=1322021: middle half 63–106 days812021n=1382022: middle half 57–103 days772022n=1362023: middle half 69–111 days882023n=1622024: middle half 71–133 days1032024n=1722025: middle half 80–148 days1112025n=255
Line = median; shaded box = middle half of articles (25th–75th percentile). Year of acceptance.
Days from submission to acceptance, by year of acceptance
YearArticles (n)25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctAccepted <14 daysHave a revised date
2025255801111481860.0%0%
2024172711031330.0%0%
202316269881110.0%0%
202213657771030.0%0%
202113863811062.2%2%
202013259831040.8%5%

Research articles vs reviews (2025)

Typen25th pctMedian75th pct
Research articles20580111149
Reviews5086112144

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 0% (0 articles)030–59 days: 7% (17 articles)3060–89 days: 24% (62 articles)6090–119 days: 22% (57 articles)90120–149 days: 24% (60 articles)120150–179 days: 11% (27 articles)150180–209 days: 8% (20 articles)180210–239 days: 2% (5 articles)210240–269 days: 1% (2 articles)240270–299 days: 1% (2 articles)270300–329 days: 1% (3 articles)300330–359 days: 0% (0 articles)330360+ days: 0% (0 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–2900.0%
30–59176.7%
60–896224.3%
90–1195722.4%
120–1496023.5%
150–1792710.6%
180–209207.8%
210–23952.0%
240–26920.8%
270–29920.8%
300–32931.2%
330–35900.0%
360+00.0%

From acceptance to online publication

After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 24 days (middle half 15–40 days, n = 255).

From submission to online publication, the median was 143 days (middle half 109–186 days, n = 255).

Read these numbers carefully

  • These times describe articles the journal accepted. Rejected manuscripts never appear in public data, so they cannot tell you how long a rejection takes.
  • Dates are the ones the publisher deposited with PubMed. Some publishers record the date a revised manuscript arrived as the submission date, which makes review look faster.
  • Invited articles and special issues can move faster than regular submissions.

Open access status and publishing fees

Open access (listed in DOAJ). Listed APC: $3,090 (DOAJ).

No institutional payments for this journal are recorded in OpenAPC.

Many journals waive or reduce fees for authors from eligible countries or institutions with publishing agreements — check with the journal and your library.

Integrity and indexing signals

Facts from public records, shown without judgement. See the methodology for why each can be worth a closer look.

Listed in DOAJYes (DOAJ record)
Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025None found (the journal may be in PubMed through PubMed Central instead)
Retractions0 retracted articles among 820 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.00 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission0.0% of 2025 articles
Publication volume210 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (+23% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Medicine journalsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journalsComplementary and alternative medicine journalsMolecular Biology journals

Similar journals — faster or cheaper, side by side

Journals publishing on the most similar topics (OpenAlex), ordered by similarity. Only 2025 figures are compared with the 2025 median of Chinese Medicine, 111 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
Phytomedicine119 (2025, n = 1,365)≈$3,630NoYes
Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine248 (2025, n = 95)≈$1,800NoYes
Frontiers in Pharmacology79 (2025, n = 3,916)≈$3,850$3,407 (121 payments)YesNo
Journal of Ethnopharmacology84 (2025, n = 1,491)≈$3,740NoYes
Phytochemical Analysis106 (2025, n = 85)≈$4,380NoYes
Integrative Medicine Research90 (2025, n = 86)No fee (DOAJ)YesNo
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies242 (2025, n = 481)$3,090YesYes

Frequently asked questions

How long does Chinese Medicine take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles Chinese Medicine accepted in 2025 were accepted within 111 days of submission (n = 255); the middle half took 80–148 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

How long after acceptance are Chinese Medicine articles published online?

Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 24 days of acceptance (n = 255).

Does Chinese Medicine charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: $3,090 (DOAJ).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 1749-8546; NLM ID 101265109; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 255 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: none.

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Data sources. Submission, acceptance and publication dates: Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed, entries through Sep 15, 2026). NLM does not endorse Journal Clock, and these figures may not reflect the most current PubMed data. Journal fees and open-access listing: DOAJ (CC0, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Fees paid by institutions: OpenAPC (Open Database License, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Retractions: Retraction Watch Database via Crossref (retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Journal identifiers and topics: OpenAlex (CC0). Currency conversion: ECB reference rates (Sep 15, 2026). How these numbers are calculated · For organisations.