The journal serves as a platform for the speedy and efficient transmission of information on current research in semigroup theory.

It also contains research announcements, which describe new results, mostly without proofs, of full length papers appearing elsewhere as well as short notes, which detail such information as new proofs, significant generalizations of known facts, comments on unsolved problems, and historical remarks.

In addition, the journal contains research problems; announcements of conferences, seminars, and symposia on semigroup theory; abstracts and bibliographical items; as well as listings of books, papers, and lecture notes of interest.

Semigroup Forum simply followed in this trend, with academic publishers realizing that there was a market for such narrowly focused journals.

[1]: 330 This journal has been called "in many ways a point of crystallization for semigroup theory and its community",[3] and "an indicator of a field which is mathematically active".