How long does peer review typically take for top journals?

For top-tier journals like Nature, Cell, and Science, the time to first decision after peer review can range from 3 to 8 weeks. Journals that aim for a faster turnaround might provide a desk rejection in as little as 4–7 days.

What is the difference between "time to first decision" and "time to desk rejection"?

"Time to first decision" refers to how long it takes a journal to provide a decision (accept, reject, or revise) after the manuscript has undergone a full peer review process. "Time to desk rejection" is the much shorter period before a manuscript is sent for peer review, when the editorial office decides it's not a good fit for the journal.

Can I speed up the peer review process?

While you cannot directly control the journal's review timeline, submitting a highly polished manuscript that perfectly matches the journal's scope and guidelines can help avoid delays or early desk rejection. Pre-submission review services can help identify and fix potential issues before submission.

Scope: 57 journals · 8 fieldsSources: Publisher sources + SciRev dataReviewed: February 2026By Manusights editorial teamCite this page

Primary sources and citation formats are collected below.

Peer Review Timelines: How Long Does Review Take? (57 Journals)

Peer review timelines by journal are scattered across author instructions, editorial reports, and author-reported databases. This reference page puts desk decisions and after-review timelines for 57 biomedical journals in one searchable table.

Each row separates time to desk rejection from time to first decision after peer review, which is the distinction most timeline roundups skip. Both matter, and they lead to very different submission strategies.

Updated Feb 2026

Peer review timelines by journal

Search, sort, and export desk timing, first decision after review, desk reject rate, and source notes for 57 biomedical journals. Timeline ranges stay visible where journals avoid publishing exact medians.

57 journalsGrouped by speed patternPublisher + SciRev sources

Desk Decision vs. Peer Review Decision: What's the Difference?

Desk rejection (days to ~2 weeks)

An editor reads your paper without sending it to reviewers and rejects it. At top journals, this is the most common outcome: over 90% of submissions to Nature, NEJM, and Lancet are desk rejected. Fast journals like Nature Methods return desk rejections in 4–7 days. Slow journals like NEJM or Nature Medicine take 2–4 weeks. A quick desk rejection isn't a sign the work is bad. It often just means scope mismatch.

Peer review decision (weeks to months)

If the editor sends your paper for review, the clock restarts. Reviewer recruitment, availability, and back-and-forth with reviewers can add weeks or months. Most top journals return a first decision after peer review in 6–12 weeks. Some journals: particularly specialty journals and fully OA journals: take 3–5 months. Knowing this upfront helps you decide whether to wait or move on.

Peer review timelines by journal

Filter by journal name, timing pattern, or note text. Export the current view as CSV, TSV, or JSON for your own submission planning.

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Category	Journal	IF (2024)	Desk decision	After review	Desk reject rate	Notes
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Cancer Cell	44.5	~5 days	~8 weeks	>85%	Very fast desk decisions; full review takes 8 weeks if paper advances
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Cell Metabolism	30.9	3–7 days	9–10 weeks	>80%	Fast desk but slower full review than other Cell Press journals
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Cell Reports	6.9	~5 days	5–7 weeks	~50%	Faster than other Cell Press journals at tier-1 level
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Circulation	38.6	~7 days	4–6 weeks	~70%	Fast desk for a major cardiology journal; AHA journal
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	European Heart Journal	35.6	~10 days	4–6 weeks	~75%	Fast desk for ESC journal
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Immunity	26.3	3–5 days	3–4 weeks	~75%	Fastest desk decisions at Cell Press
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Molecular Cell	16.6	3–5 days	3–4 weeks	~60%	Fast desk for Cell Press
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Nature	48.5	~7 days	~8–12 weeks	>90%	Most submissions desk rejected within one week
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Nature Biotechnology	41.7	~4 days	6–8 weeks	>85%	Among the fastest first responses in Nature family
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Nature Communications	15.7	~9 days	6–8 weeks	~50%	Lower desk reject rate than flagship Nature journals
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Nature Immunology	27.6	~5 days	6–10 weeks	>90%	—
Fastest Desk Decisions (under 2 weeks)	Nature Methods	32.1	~7 days	6–8 weeks	>85%	—

How to Use This Data

If you're on a deadline

Grant submissions, job applications, and graduation timelines all interact with publication timelines. If you need a decision within 6 weeks, avoid journals where full review takes 3–5 months. Journals like Circulation, Neuron, and Immunity return first decisions within 3–5 weeks once past the desk.

If you're trying to avoid wasting months

Top journals with fast desk decisions (Nature Methods at 4 days, Cell at ~14 days) are actually efficient even with high rejection rates. A 5-day desk rejection from Nature Methods is much better than waiting 90 days at a lower-tier journal only to get revisions you could have handled elsewhere.

If you're comparing submission options

A journal with a 40% acceptance rate and 120-day timeline (Scientific Reports) might serve you worse than a journal with a 15% rate and a 35-day timeline (Science Advances). Timeline and acceptance rate together determine your expected time from submission to a yes. Run both numbers.

Data Sources

• Publisher statistics: Journal websites and annual editorial reports where publicly available (BMJ publishes median time-to-decision; Nature family journals publish metrics; AAAS journals publish statistics)
• Author-reported timelines: SciRev.org (peer-verified submission outcome reports), supplemented by published author surveys and Web of Science Reviewer Recognition data
• Publisher-published data: Journals that disclose average time-to-first-decision in their author information pages, including BMJ (bmj.com/about-bmj), eLife (elifesciences.org), and PLOS (journals.plos.org/plosone/s/journal-information)
• Editor commentary: Published editorials and interviews where editors have disclosed timeline data
• All figures are ranges or estimates: individual experiences vary based on reviewer availability, editorial workload, and seasonal factors
• Last updated: February 2026

Version History

February 2026

Reviewed journal timing ranges, refreshed source notes, added dataset export options, and standardized citation formatting.

December 2025

Expanded the timeline coverage to 57 biomedical journals and separated desk timing from first decision after peer review.

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Manusights. (2026). Peer review timelines for biomedical journals. Retrieved from https://manusights.com/resources/peer-review-timelines

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Manusights. Peer review timelines for biomedical journals [Internet]. 2026. Available from: https://manusights.com/resources/peer-review-timelines

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