In this paper, we report the genomic organization of the human spata2 (spermatogenesis-associated protein 2) gene and the characterization of its promoter region. The 5'-flanking region lacks canonical TATA-box but contains a CAAT-box and potential binding sites for a variety of transcription factors such as Sp1, NF-1 and CREB. The results indicated that (1) the cis-acting elements necessary for a basal transcription of spata2 are contained within the -81/+159 proximal sequence of the promoter and (2) the strongest promoter activity was exhibited by the -403/+159 region that contains a CREB site.