Transcription factor IIIC (TFIIIC) is a general RNA polymerase III transcription factor that binds the B-box internal promotor element of tRNA genes and the complex of TFIIIA with a 5S rRNA gene. TFIIIC then directs the binding of TFIIIB to DNA upstream of the transcription start site. TFIIIB in turn directs RNA polymerase III binding and initiation. Human TFIIIC contains five different subunits. The 243-kDa alpha subunit can be specifically cross-linked to B-box DNA, but its sequence does not reveal a known DNA binding domain. During poliovirus infection, TFIIIC is cleaved and inactivated by the poliovirus-encoded 3C protease (3Cpro). Here we analyzed the cleavage of TFIIIC subunits by 3Cpro in vitro and during poliovirus infection of HeLa cells. Analyses of the DNA binding activities of the resulting subcomplexes indicated that an N-terminal 83-kDa domain of the alpha subunit associates with the beta subunit to generate the TFIIIC DNA binding domain. Cleavage with 3Cpro also generated an approximately 125-kDa C-terminal fragment of the alpha subunit which remained associated with the gamma and epsilon subunits.