We have cloned and sequenced a cDNA of 1766 base pairs in length encoding the 275 amino acids of hRPB 33, the third largest subunit of human RNA polymerase II. The DNA was isolated by screening of a human lambda gt11 cDNA library with oligonucleotides designed on the basis of the amino acid residue analysis of the bovine material. The hRPB 33 amino acid sequence is highly conserved between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and human. Overall, 45% of the amino acid residues are identical with the yeast homologue RPB 3, and 65% of the amino acids are identical in the two major conserved regions at residues 0-103 and 151-197. hRPB 33 is also homologous to yeast RPC 5. The amino acid sequence of hRPB 33 showed no obvious homology with bacterial RNA polymerase or with any of its sigma factors.