Is Acta Materialia a good journal?

Acta Materialia is a strong target if the paper should connect processing, structure, properties, and performance instead of reporting one isolated characterization result. It is a weaker fit if a concise, urgent result can fit Scripta Materialia better than an Acta Materialia paper stretched beyond its evidence.

What is the Acta Materialia JIF?

The JIF is 9+ (2024 JCR). See the full year-by-year trend and category ranking in our Acta Materialia JIF analysis.

What is the acceptance rate of Acta Materialia?

Manusights currently treats ~20-30% as an estimate for Acta Materialia, not an official journal-published rate. One common reason papers fail is submitting a short communication as a padded full article.

How long does Acta Materialia take to review?

Acta Materialia typically takes ~3-5 months to first decision, but timing varies by editor, field, and reviewer availability. Expect an editorial screen first, then acta-family routing, then peer review.

All Journal Guides

Journal Guide

Publishing in Acta Materialia: Fit, Timeline & Submission Guide

Q: Is Acta Materialia peer reviewed?

Yes, Acta Materialia is fully peer reviewed. All submissions undergo rigorous peer review by Reviewers evaluate characterization rigor, computational validity, materials significance, and whether the evidence supports the engineering-materials claim..

Q: What does Acta Materialia look for in submissions?

A complete PSPP argument: The paper should connect processing, structure, properties, and performance instead of reporting one isolated characterization result.

Q: What should I know before submitting to Acta Materialia?

Calibrate against the Acta family before submission. Read recent Acta Materialia, Scripta Materialia, Materialia, and Acta Biomaterialia papers. The best venue is usually clear once the manuscript length, evidence depth, and biological-materials boundary are honest.

Full-length materials science for processing, structure, properties, and performance

Should you submit here?

Submit if the paper should connect processing, structure, properties, and performance instead of reporting one isolated characterization result. Be careful if a concise, urgent result can fit Scripta Materialia better than an Acta Materialia paper stretched beyond its evidence.

IF 9+ · ~20-30% accepted · ~3-5 months to first decisionLast reviewed May 8, 20260 official · 2 estimated · 0 unverified signals

Best fit if

The paper should connect processing, structure, properties, and performance instead of reporting one isolated characterization result

Not ideal if

A concise, urgent result can fit Scripta Materialia better than an Acta Materialia paper stretched beyond its evidence

Also compare

Advanced Materialsand J. Alloys Compd.

Impact Factor (2024)

~20-30%

Acceptance Rate

~3-5 months to first decision

Time to First Decision

Submission guide

Acta Materialia Submission Guide

What submitting to Acta Materialia actually requires: Gregory S. Rohrer's coordinating-editor role across the Acta journals family, the 11,000-word soft cap with 12-figure ceiling, the strong materials-science methodology bar, and the editorial culture that distinguishes Acta Materialia from sister journals Scripta Materialia, Materialia, and Acta Biomaterialia.

What Acta Materialia Publishes

Acta Materialia publishes full-length original materials science papers where processing, structure, properties, and performance are connected in a coherent engineering-materials argument. The practical fit question is whether the paper belongs in the full-length Acta Materialia lane rather than Scripta Materialia for short communications, Materialia for broader materials work, or Acta Biomaterialia for biomaterials.

Processing-structure-property-performance relationships in engineering materials
Metallurgy, alloys, ceramics, composites, and computational materials science
Rigorous characterization connected to materials performance
Computational materials work with validation or clear physical interpretation
Full-length papers that need the Acta format rather than Scripta's short-communication lane

Editor Insight

“Acta Materialia is strongest when the paper makes a full materials-engineering argument. If the contribution is short, biomaterials-centered, chemistry-centered, or mostly pure physics, the better target is often a sister Acta journal or a specialty venue.”

What Acta Materialia Editors Look For

A complete PSPP argument

The paper should connect processing, structure, properties, and performance instead of reporting one isolated characterization result.

Focused full-length evidence

Acta Materialia expects enough evidence for a full article, but the main text should still respect the 11,000-word and 12-figure expectation.

Correct Acta-family routing

Authors should decide Acta Materialia vs Scripta Materialia vs Materialia vs Acta Biomaterialia before upload.

Why Papers Get Rejected

These patterns appear repeatedly in manuscripts that don't make it past Acta Materialia's editorial review:

Submitting a short communication as a padded full article

A concise, urgent result can fit Scripta Materialia better than an Acta Materialia paper stretched beyond its evidence.

Hiding engineering relevance behind chemistry or physics detail

Acta Materialia needs an engineering-materials contribution, not only synthesis, phase behavior, or a physical phenomenon.

Exceeding the soft length and figure expectations

The Guide for Authors says papers normally have fewer than 11,000 words and 12 main-text figures, and longer papers may be returned for shortening.

Does your manuscript avoid these patterns?

The Free Readiness Scan reads your full manuscript against Acta Materialia's criteria and flags the specific issues most likely to cause rejection.

Run Free Readiness Scan →

Insider Tips from Acta Materialia Authors

Calibrate against the Acta family before submission

Read recent Acta Materialia, Scripta Materialia, Materialia, and Acta Biomaterialia papers. The best venue is usually clear once the manuscript length, evidence depth, and biological-materials boundary are honest.

Make the PSPP chain visible in the abstract and first figures

Processing, structure, properties, and performance do not all need equal weight, but the reader should see how the chain works before the methods detail.

The Acta Materialia Submission Process

Acta-family routing

Before upload

Confirm whether the manuscript is a full Acta Materialia article, a Scripta Materialia short communication, a broader Materialia paper, or an Acta Biomaterialia paper.

Manuscript preparation

Pre-submission

Prepare the Word or LaTeX manuscript with the 11,000-word and 12-figure expectation in mind, plus data availability and disclosure statements.

Editorial Manager submission

Day 0

Submit through Elsevier's Editorial Manager and make the PSPP contribution clear in the cover letter.

Processing editor screen

2-4 weeks

The processing editor assesses scope, length, figure count, novelty, and whether the manuscript fits Acta Materialia rather than another Acta-family title.

Peer review

8-12 weeks

Reviewers evaluate characterization rigor, computational validity, materials significance, and whether the evidence supports the engineering-materials claim.

Acta Materialia by the Numbers

2024 Impact Factor(Clarivate JCR 2024)	9+
CiteScore(ScienceDirect journal page)	15.4
Soft word cap(Guide for Authors)	<11,000 words
Main-text figure ceiling(Guide for Authors)	12 figures
Publisher	Elsevier on behalf of Acta Materialia Inc.

Before you submit

Acta Materialia accepts a small fraction of submissions. Make your attempt count.

Start with the Free Readiness Scan. Unlock the Full AI Diagnostic for $29. If you need deeper scientific feedback, choose Expert Review. The full report is calibrated to Acta Materialia.

Run Free Readiness Scan See a sample report

Article Types

Original Research Article

Normally fewer than 11,000 words and 12 main-text figures

Full-length Acta Materialia paper connecting processing, structure, properties, and performance

Overview

Commissioned overview article prepared when invited by an Acta Materialia editor

Landmark Acta Materialia Papers

Papers that defined fields and changed science:

High-entropy alloy design and diffusion studies
Grain-boundary corrosion and microstructure-property studies
Computational materials papers validated against characterization data

Preparing a Acta Materialia Submission?

Get pre-submission feedback from reviewers who've published in Acta Materialia and know exactly what editors look for.

Run Free Readiness Scan

Need expert depth? See Expert Review Options

NDA-protected

Confidential

Primary Fields

Materials ScienceMetallurgyAlloysComputational Materials ScienceCharacterizationEngineering Materials

Ready to submit to Acta Materialia?

A desk rejection costs months. Get expert feedback before you submit, from scientists who know exactly what Acta Materialia editors look for.

Need field-expert depth? See Expert Review Options