A physical map has been constructed for bovine parvovirus (BPV) replicative form (RF) DNA synthesized in vitro. Analysis of restriction enzyme digestion products for 12 enzymes by neutral gel electrophoresis allowed the mapping of 26 cleavage sites between the 3' and 5' termini of the in vitro RF DNA. Cleavage sites for these enzymes were not detected within the 3'-terminal hairpin. HindIII, SalI, SmaI, SstII and XorII did not cleave BPV DNA, while 12 other enzymes cleaved the genome at one to four sites. Eleven additional enzymes were shown to cleave the genome at 8 to 20 sites. Comparison of the restriction site locations for BPV with those of other autonomous parvoviruses suggests that there may be conservation within the genome of certain restriction sites.