OBJECTIVE: To study the role of thrombopoietin (TPO) gene 5' untranslated region (UTR) and the intron in TPO expression regulation. METHODS: With the mRNA derived from Chinese human fetal liver as the template, full-length TPO cDNA (approximately 1.1 kb) and TPO genomic DNA(6.2 kb) along with all the introns of TPO gene were isolated by PCR and long-distance PCR techniques from Chinese fetal liver tissue. RESULT: Sequencing analysis indicated that all the coding sequences and the exon/intron splice sites were consistent with the results previously reported by Sohma et al except for only a DNA and all the introns in the intron of TPO gene. CONCLUSION: We have successfully cloned full-length TPO cDNA, TPO genomic DNA and all the introns of TPO gene from Chinese fetal liver tissue.