The chromosomal localization of the mouse gene coding for desmin, one of the muscle-specific intermediate filament subunits, was determined by in situ hybridization using a specific 3H-labelled DNA probe. There is only one copy of the desmin gene and it is located on chromosome 1 in the band C3. This result adds an eleventh locus to a conserved gene cluster and confirms the partial homology that exists between the long arm of human chromosome 2 and chromosome 1 of the mouse.