Three human cDNA libraries were screened with a human manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) cDNA under moderately stringent conditions to characterize a large 4-6 kb RNA species which hybridizes to Mn-SOD in RNA blot analyses. A new 4.2 kb Mn-SOD cDNA clone (Mn-SOD 1) was isolated. Its long 3426 nucleotide 3'-untranslated sequence contains both of the 240 base 3'-untranslated sequences of the 1 kb Mn-SOD 4 and 5 cDNAs. This is a fully processed, cytoplasmic RNA species and raises the possibility of a role for particular 3'-untranslated sequence selection in Mn-SOD gene regulation.