We have identified, by DNase I footprinting, six different factors that interact with the promoter of the human A gamma-globin gene in nuclear extracts of the B-cell line BJA-B. Among them is the vertebrate homologue of the sea-urchin CCAAT displacement protein (CDP) which footprints over the entire duplicated CCAAT region. The CCAAT-binding factor CP1, a potential activator of the gamma-globin promoter, is able to bind to its proximal recognition sequence only once it has been partially enriched and separated from CDP. The factor CDP has an apparent molecular mass of 200 kDa and differs from CP1 by its footprint pattern and competition behavior.