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Nature’s own author guidance states that “only about 8% of submitted manuscripts will be accepted for publication,” and that “most submissions are declined without being sent out for peer review.” That is the journal’s published figure for its acceptance rate. This guide explains what the 8% means, how Nature’s editors reach their first decision, where the time goes between submission and acceptance, and how to read the rate next to the Journal Impact Factor. Everything below comes from Nature’s own editorial and journal-metrics pages, checked on 2026-10-29.
Definition: what is the acceptance rate and the rejection rate for Nature?
An acceptance rate is the share of submitted manuscripts a journal goes on to accept. The rejection rate is its complement. For Nature, the editorial criteria page puts the acceptance figure at about 8% of submitted manuscripts, which implies that roughly 92% are not accepted. The same page adds the caveat that matters most: most submissions are declined without being sent out for peer review, so the rate is dominated by an editorial screening step, not by referee verdicts.
Formula and worked example
The calculation is a simple ratio:
acceptance rate = manuscripts accepted ÷ manuscripts submitted × 100
Accepted is the count of manuscripts the journal accepts for publication over a defined period; submitted is the count of manuscripts it received over the same period. The rejection rate is 100 minus the acceptance rate.
Arithmetic illustration (invented round numbers to show the calculation, not Nature’s counts): a journal that receives 1,000 manuscripts in a year and accepts 80 has an acceptance rate of 80 ÷ 1,000 × 100 = 8%, and a rejection rate of 100 − 8 = 92%. In other words, 92 of every 100 submissions are not accepted. Nature states the resulting rate (“about 8%”) on its editorial criteria page.
How Nature’s editors decide what goes to peer review
Nature describes a two-stage process. In the first stage, editorial staff decide whether a paper goes out for peer review. The assigned editor seeks informal advice from scientific advisors and colleagues. The criteria Nature states are that the results seem “novel, arresting (illuminating, unexpected or surprising)” and have “both immediate and far-reaching implications.” Nature says this initial judgement “is not a reflection on the technical validity of the work.”
That last point is the key to reading the rate. A paper declined at this stage has not been found technically wrong; it has been judged against the journal’s breadth and novelty bar. Authors are usually informed within a week if the paper is not being considered.
Possible outcomes after review
Nature lists the outcomes as: accepted without changes; rejected with resubmission invited (the authors send a point-by-point response to all referee comments); or rejected with no offer to reconsider, in which case a resubmission “will be declined without further review.” Authors may appeal in writing; Nature treats appeals as low priority and a paper cannot be submitted elsewhere while an appeal is open. If a revision is invited, the journal then asks for the full formatting; for background on revision decisions see major revision vs minor revision.
Time to decision and time to acceptance
Nature’s journal-metrics page reports two medians, with the journal’s own definitions:
| Metric (Nature journal-metrics page) | Value | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Submission to first editorial decision | 8 days (median) | From receipt of the submission to when it is either sent out for peer review or rejected |
| Submission to acceptance | 321 days (median) | Includes all peer review and revision |
The gap between the two figures shows where the time goes. The editorial screen is quick; the months are spent in peer review and revision for the minority of papers that pass it. 321 days is a little over ten months (321 ÷ 365 × 12 ≈ 10.6).
Interpretation: how to read the number
| If you see | It means | It does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptance rate about 8% | The journal is highly selective; Nature states it “has to be highly selective” to publish the best research across a wide range of fields | That 92% of papers failed on technical quality |
| Most submissions declined without review | The decision at that stage rests on novelty and breadth, per the journal | That the work was found technically invalid |
| 8-day median first decision | A fast editorial screen | That peer review is fast |
| 321-day median to acceptance | Review and revision are lengthy for accepted papers | The time to a rejection after review |
Assumptions and common mistakes
- Mixing definitions. A rate computed on submissions that reached peer review is a different number from one computed on all submissions. Nature’s 8% is stated against submitted manuscripts.
- Treating it as a quality score. It measures selectivity under a journal’s editorial criteria, not the merit of any single paper or the soundness of rejected work.
- Ranking journals by it alone. Selectivity depends on field, scope and how many suitable papers are submitted. For a wider decision framework see how to choose a journal and why peer review matters when choosing where to submit.
- Quoting third-party rejection percentages as if they were Nature’s. Cite the journal’s own statement and date it.
Acceptance rate vs impact factor: why the PNAS impact factor is a different question
Acceptance rate and Journal Impact Factor (JIF) measure different things. Nature’s journal-metrics page reports a 2025 JIF of 56.1 and a five-year JIF of 56.7, both from Clarivate. It defines the JIF as citations in the Journal Citation Reports year to items from the previous two years, divided by the scholarly items published in those two years, “a functional approximation of the mean citation rate per citable item.” The JIF therefore measures average citations; the acceptance rate measures how many submissions are accepted.
Because the JIF is an average of citations, it is recalculated every year and depends on a journal’s field and article mix. Springer Nature, a DORA signatory, notes that a small number of highly cited articles can have an outsized influence on a JIF and that it is not necessarily a measure of journal quality. So a gap between the JIF of Nature and that of PNAS, or of any other journal, is a gap in average citation counts, not a ranking of quality or selectivity. For the current PNAS figure, use the journal’s own metrics page or Journal Citation Reports for the year you need. The definition and its limits are covered in Nature’s Journal Impact Factor and impact factor vs h-index, and the wider metric families in SJR, CiteScore, Altmetric and Nature Index.
How to report it
State the figure, the journal’s own page as the source, and the date you read it. Example in APA style (adapt the access date):
Nature states that about 8% of submitted manuscripts are accepted (Nature, n.d., Editorial criteria and processes, accessed 2026-10-29).
Reference entry pattern: Nature. (n.d.). Editorial criteria and processes. https://www.nature.com/nature/for-authors/editorial-criteria-and-processes. Always report it as the journal’s stated figure, not as a measured rate.
To compute a rate for your own comparison, divide accepted by submitted. In Excel: =B2/A2 formatted as a percentage; in R: accepted / submitted * 100; in Python: accepted / submitted * 100. With 80 accepted and 1,000 submitted each returns 8.
What is the correct format for a Nature article?
Nature’s formatting guide gives this order: title, authors, affiliations, a bold first paragraph (the summary paragraph, ideally no more than 200 words, with the “Here we show” statement), main text, main references, tables, figure legends, methods (including data and code availability statements), methods references, acknowledgements, funding, author contributions, competing interests, additional information, and extended data legends. A typical six-page article is about 2,500 words with four modest display items; an eight-page article is about 4,300 words. The guideline is no more than 50 references, excluding Methods and supplementary references.
For the initial submission, Nature says its journals are flexible: “within reason, style and length will not influence consideration.” Text and figures go in one file (Word or PDF, up to 30 MB), and line numbers are encouraged. Detailed formatting is requested only if a revision is invited. For general layout advice see manuscript format for journal submission, and for the author-contribution statement see Nature author contributions.
FAQ
What is the rejection rate for Nature?
Nature says only about 8% of submitted manuscripts will be accepted, so about 92% are not. Most submissions are declined without being sent out for peer review.
Why is the PNAS impact factor so low?
Impact factors compare average citations per item, and averages differ by field and article mix. A lower figure than Nature’s is not a measure of quality or selectivity, and Springer Nature itself says a JIF is not necessarily a measure of journal quality. Read the current PNAS figure from the journal’s own metrics page or Journal Citation Reports.
What is the correct format for a Nature article?
Follow the order in Nature’s formatting guide (summary paragraph first, then main text, references, legends, Methods and the closing statements). For the initial submission, Nature accepts flexible style and length.
How long does Nature take to decide?
The journal’s median time from submission to first editorial decision is 8 days; the median from submission to acceptance is 321 days.
Can I appeal a Nature rejection?
Nature accepts written appeals, treats them as low priority, and does not allow submission elsewhere while an appeal is under way.
Sources
- Nature. Editorial criteria and processes. https://www.nature.com/nature/for-authors/editorial-criteria-and-processes (date checked: 2026-10-29).
- Nature. Journal metrics. https://www.nature.com/nature/journal-impact (date checked: 2026-10-29).
- Nature. Formatting guide. https://www.nature.com/nature/for-authors/formatting-guide (date checked: 2026-10-29).
- Nature. Initial submission. https://www.nature.com/nature/for-authors/initial-submission (date checked: 2026-10-29).
