We have studied 30 French patients with X-linked muscular dystrophy of the Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) types for intragenic deletions, using the cDNA probes of the DMD/BMD gene. Sixteen patients (53%) had molecular deletions in one or several of the 65 Hind III fragments containing exons detected with the DNA probes; in four deletion cases junction, fragments of altered size were seen. Fourteen (87%) of the deletions were detected using only two (1-2a and 8) and fifteen with 8+(2b-3) of the cDNA subclones. In our limited sample, BMD was caused by deletions in the 5' end of the gene, and in two instances of DMD, deletions of similar types resulted in diseases of similar severity. Of two patients with mental retardation, both had deletions comprised exons contained in probe 8, but other patients without mental retardation are also deleted with probe 8. We conclude that cDNA hybridization studies provide a powerful diagnostic tool in DMD and BMD families.