DIGESTIVE DISEASE AUTHORITYInside Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

First published in 2004 by Springer Nature, Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology has become the journal that gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and GI researchers turn to when they need authoritative, comprehensive, and clinically actionable reviews. With an impact factor of 45.2 in the 2025 JCR release, the journal continues to set the standard for how digestive disease science is synthesized and communicated. Its ISSN is 1759-5045.

The journal’s coverage spans the full spectrum of gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary medicine. From the molecular pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease to the immunology of chronic hepatitis, from the neurobiology of the gut-brain axis to the genetics of colorectal cancer, Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology publishes reviews that define the state of the art. The editorial team’s ability to identify topics at the moment they become clinically urgent — such as the microbiome’s role in IBD or the advent of curative hepatitis C therapies — has been instrumental in driving the journal’s citation success.

METRICS AT A GLANCEThe Complete Bibliometric Profile

An impact factor of 45.2 places Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology among the elite journals in all of gastroenterology and hepatology. This metric reflects not just citation volume but also the journal’s success in attracting the most important review articles in the field. When leading researchers are invited to write comprehensive reviews, Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology is often their first choice — a preference that is validated by the journal’s consistently high citation performance.

The CiteScore of 55.8 from Scopus and the SJR of 12.5 from Scimago provide independent confirmation of the journal’s quality. The CiteScore’s four-year window reveals that Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology articles continue to attract citations over extended periods, while the SJR’s prestige-weighting confirms that these citations come from the most respected sources in medicine and biology.

CLINICAL RELEVANCEWhy Gastroenterologists Rely on Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Digestive diseases affect billions of people worldwide. From the rising incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in developing nations to the global burden of viral hepatitis, from the obesity epidemic and its metabolic consequences to the increasing prevalence of colorectal cancer in younger populations, gastroenterology and hepatology face urgent clinical challenges. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology addresses these challenges by publishing reviews that are both scientifically rigorous and clinically actionable.

The journal’s editorial philosophy emphasizes translational relevance. A review on the gut microbiome, for example, must do more than catalog bacterial species — it must explain how microbiome research is informing probiotic therapies, dietary recommendations, and even fecal microbiota transplantation protocols. This clinical orientation makes Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology essential reading not just for academic researchers but also for practicing clinicians who need to stay current in a rapidly evolving field.

SCOPE & TOPIC AREASWhat Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology Covers

The journal’s editorial scope encompasses all aspects of gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary medicine: inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), irritable bowel syndrome and functional GI disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease and Barrett’s esophagus, celiac disease and food intolerances, viral hepatitis (A, B, C, D, E), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and steatohepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, pancreatic diseases, GI oncology, the gut microbiome, neurogastroenterology and motility, and endoscopic innovations.

SCOPUS & SJR DEEP DIVEBeyond the Impact Factor

The h-index of 185 means that Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology has published at least 185 papers that have each attracted 185 or more citations. For a review journal focused on a single organ system, this is an extraordinary achievement. It reflects the consistent ability of the editorial team to commission reviews that become definitive references — the kind of papers that clinicians save, that trainees are assigned to read, and that researchers cite for years after publication.

The SJR of 12.5 further indicates that Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology is cited by the most selective journals in medicine. When a paper in Nature Medicine or The New England Journal of Medicine cites a review from Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, it sends a powerful signal about the quality and authority of that review. These high-prestige citations are the primary driver of the journal’s elevated SJR score.

PUBLISHING GUIDANCEWriting for Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology publishes commissioned review articles. The editorial team identifies timely topics and invites leading experts to contribute. Authors interested in proposing a review should submit a detailed outline including the proposed scope, clinical relevance, and potential impact on the field.

Successful reviews combine comprehensive literature coverage with critical analysis and clear clinical recommendations. Visual materials — endoscopic images, histopathology slides, anatomical diagrams, treatment algorithms — are strongly encouraged. Reviews must be accessible to both specialists and generalists, as many readers use Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology to stay current outside their immediate subspecialty.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSFAQ About Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology