We report the identification and characterization of the cis-acting elements responsible for the expression of the rat cholecystokinin (CCK) gene. Deletion mutations were constructed by linking variable amounts of the 5'-flanking region of the CCK gene to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene. The transcriptional activity of the CCK promoter deletion constructs was measured by monitoring chloramphenicol acetyltransferase enzyme activity after transient transfections. It is shown that sequences within 102 base pairs of the cap site are required for the expression from this promoter. This region contains a sequence that is identical to the -296 element of the human c-fos gene and is homologous with the polyoma enhancer and the cAMP- and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-responsive elements described for several genes. In addition, the -119 to -81 fragment of the CCK promoter contains a transcriptional enhancer that potentiates the transcription from the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase promoter in a position- and orientation-independent manner. DNase I protection and gel retardation experiments indicated the ability of several trans-acting factors found in nuclear extracts to bind specifically to regions of the CCK promoter. In particular, two complexes formed adjacent to the CCK enhancer region. One complex, CCK-1a, formed with sequences 5' to the enhancer whereas the other complex, CCK-1b, formed with the sequences identified by DNase I footprinting, 3' to the enhancer. Oligonucleotide competition experiments indicated that these complexes are formed by the same transacting factor or factors with similar binding specificities.