Previous studies have suggested that the mdmX gene is constitutively transcribed, and that MdmX protein activity is instead controlled by cellular localization and DNA damage induced Mdm2-mediated ubiquitination leading to proteasomal degradation. In these studies, we report that the human mdmX (hdmX) mRNA is reproducibly decreased in various human cell lines following treatment with various DNA-damaging agents. Repression of hdmX transcripts is observed in DNA-damaged HCT116 colon cancer cells and in isogenic p53(-/-) cells, suggesting that this effect is p53-independent. Reduction in the amount of hdmX transcript occurs in both human tumor cell lines and primary human diploid fibroblasts, and results in a significant reduction of HdmX protein. Examination of hdmX promoter activity suggests that damage-induced repression of hdmX mRNA is not significantly impacted by transcription initiation. In contrast, changes in hdmX mRNA splicing appear to partly explain the reduction in full-length hdmX mRNA levels in tumor cell lines with the destabilization of full-length hdmX transcripts, potentially through microRNA miR-34a regulation, also impacting transcript levels. Taken together, this study uncovers previously unrecognized cellular mechanisms by which hdmX mRNA levels are kept low following genotoxic stress.