International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS) Impact Factor (JIF)

International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by MDPI (ISSN 1422-0067, established 2000), covering chemistry, molecular physics, and molecular biology. Like any journal indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, IJMS receives an annual Journal Impact Factor (JIF) from Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports (JCR), released each June. The JIF is a single number: total citations in the current JCR year to items published in the two preceding years, divided by the number of citable items (articles and reviews) published in those same two years. See the general Journal Impact Factor entry for how the metric is defined and its well-documented limitations as a research-assessment tool.

What Makes This an Instance of the Metric

A journal-specific Impact Factor, like the one this term describes, is an instance of the general JIF concept applied to one named title in one JCR release year. Three things distinguish it from the general metric definition: (1) it is tied to a specific JCR edition (the figure changes with each June release as the citation and publication windows roll forward); (2) it depends on which JCR edition-year’s two-year citation/publication window is being counted; and (3) because IJMS is a high-volume, broad-scope journal, its aggregate JIF sits alongside a 5-year JIF and a JCR quartile/rank within its assigned subject category (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology), all of which move independently.

Worked Examples

• Citing a current figure responsibly. A researcher preparing a CV notes: ‘International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Impact Factor 5.6 (2025 JCR release, Clarivate), Q1 in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology’ — the figure is tagged to its release year and category rank rather than stated as a bare, undated number.
• Distinguishing 2-year from 5-year JIF. A research office comparing IJMS to a narrower-scope competitor journal reports both the 2-year JIF (~5.6) and the 5-year JIF (~6.3) side by side, since the 5-year figure smooths out year-to-year citation volatility that a high-volume journal like IJMS can show.

Counter-Example

Citing ‘IJMS Impact Factor 4.9’ without a year is a counter-example of correct use: 4.9 was IJMS’s reported figure for an earlier JCR release (2023 citation data), not the current one. Because MDPI journals, including IJMS, publish a very high volume of articles annually, their JIF can shift more between releases than a narrower, lower-volume title’s — making the release-year tag especially important here, not optional.

Verifying the Figure Yourself

CASRAI does not maintain a live feed of JCR data and does not warrant that any specific number stays current. To confirm IJMS’s current Impact Factor: (1) check Clarivate’s JCR platform directly if your institution has a subscription (the authoritative source); (2) check MDPI’s own IJMS journal page, which publishes its current JIF; or (3) cross-check at least two independent JCR-tracking aggregators, since these sites sometimes lag or round differently. See How to Look Up a Journal’s Impact Factor for the full verification workflow.

Context: MDPI and Journal Impact Factor Scrutiny

IJMS’s publisher, MDPI, has been the subject of published scrutiny (including from Clarivate itself, which has delisted or flagged individual MDPI titles in past JCR cycles for issues such as high self-citation or rapid special-issue volume growth) over editorial practices at some of its journals. IJMS itself has remained JCR-indexed, but this history is a reason to treat any single MDPI-journal JIF as one input among several — alongside CiteScore, quartile rank, and editorial-practice due diligence — rather than a sufficient standalone quality signal. See Is MDPI Peer Reviewed? for more on evaluating MDPI-published journals specifically, and the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) for the broader responsible-metrics case against using JIF as a proxy for individual article or researcher quality.