We report isolation of human cDNA highly homologous to murine Eif4a2, a gene for one of the protein-synthesis initiation factors involved in the binding of mRNA to the ribosome. This cDNA, which encodes a 407-amino-acid protein, belongs to a highly-conserved gene family, the DEAD-box gene family. The human homologue of Eif4a2 was expressed in all normal tissues examined, but in variable amounts, being highly expressed in skeletal muscle and ovary, and less abundantly in liver, kidney, and pancreas. Furthermore, we have localized the human EIF4A2 to chromosome 18p11.2 by fluorescent in situ hybridization.