Comparative chromosome painting with mouse (Mus musculus, MMU) chromosome-specific DNA probes was performed for three Muridae species, the Indian soft-furred field rat (Millardia meltada), the spiny mouse (Acomys dimidiatus) and the harvest mouse (Micromys minutus). All probes except for the Y probe were successfully hybridized to the chromosomes of all species, and homologous chromosome segments between mouse and the three species were identified at the molecular level. Comparison of our data with the published data of six other genera (Mus, Rattus, Apodemus, Otomys, Rhabdomys and Cricetulus) of the Muridae suggested that the associations MMU1b/17a, 2b/13a, 5b/11a, 7/19, 10b/17b, 10c/17c, 11b/16a, 12/17d and 13b/15, and the single painted chromosomes and chromosome segments MMU3, 4, 5a, 8a, 8b, 16b, 18 and X were probably contained by the ancestral karyotype of the Muridae, and have been strongly conserved throughout murid evolution.