Double-stranded cDNA was constructed for poly(A)-containing RNA isolated from foetal human articular cartilage known to contain small amounts of pro alpha 1 (II) collagen mRNA. A 585 base pair PstI-EcoRI cDNA fragment was isolated and cloned into plasmid pBR322. A resulting recombinant plasmid pHCAR1 was shown to hybridize specifically to a 5.4 kilobase mRNA in cartilage but not in calvarial RNA. Definite identification of clone pHCAR1 was based on sequence analysis; marked homology with the corresponding chick gene and complete agreement with the human gene sequences available were observed.