Purpose – The aim is to describe the “empirical characteristics” of the “top” journals in mainstream marketing by assessing selected journals with respect to: the proportion of “empirical” versus “non-empirical” contributions; the proportion of national versus international research data; the geographical origin of research data; and the geographical affiliations of the authors whose articles are published. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of “top” scholarly journals in mainstream marketing is selected on the basis of expert opinion and journal ranking lists. The evaluation considers all available articles at the time of data collection (a total of 1,463) published in these journals over a seven-year period from 2000 to 2006. Findings – A large proportion of all contributions in the selected journals were “empirical” in nature. Although this finding is not unexpected in scholarly journals, it is apparent that the journals evaluated also provide opportunities for non-empirical contributions. Other “empirical characteristics” were found to be skewed. Research limitations/implications – This evaluation is limited to the “empirical characteristics” of “top” journals in mainstream marketing. Practical implications – The study provides valuable insights into the nature of academic publishing in the area of top journals of mainstream marketing. Originality/value – Scholars will benefit from insights into the “empirical characteristics” of the “top” journals in mainstream marketing. In particular, scholars can note the particular features of individual journals. Further studies of the “empirical characteristics” of individual research journals are required in other sub-disciplines of marketing.