The MEF2 genes belong to the MADS box family of transcription factors and encode proteins that bind as homo- and heterodimers to a consensus CTA(T/A)4TAG/A sequence, which is present in the regulatory regions of numerous muscle-specific and growth-inducible genes. Sequence analysis of human MEF2 cDNA clones suggests that they arose from alternatively spliced transcripts of four different genes, termed MEF2A-D. We have mapped the MEF2 genes to human chromosomal regions by identifying unique sequences in the MEF2 cDNA clones and using these sequences as PCR primers on the DNA of human-rodent hybrid clone panels that are informative for different regions of the human genome. PCR primers were also used to identify individual YAC clones for two of the genes, MEF2A and MEF2C, and a PCR product was used to identify cosmid clones for MEF2B. Genetic and physical mapping information available from genome databases on markers contained within YAC and cosmid clones provided independent assignments for those genes. Inter-Alu PCR painting probes of YAC clones were used as probes for high-resolution chromosomal regional assignment by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The localization of MEF2A to chromosome 15q26, MEF2B to 19p12, MEF2C to 5q14, and MEF2D to 1q12-q23 verifies the existence of at least four distinct loci for members of this gene family.