The genes for insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) encode secreted proteins that bind insulin-like growth factors I and II with high affinity and modulate their biological activities. In this report we have used interspecific backcross mapping and gene cloning to define the chromosomal locations of 4 mouse Igfbp genes. Igfbp1 and 3 are found in the proximal part of chromosome 1. In the human genome these two loci map within 20 kb of one another on chromosome 7p14-p12, and the genes are organized in a tail-to-tail configuration. Mouse Igfbp2 and 5 colocalize to a proximal region of chromosome 1 that is syntenic with human chromosome 2q33-q36, and the two genes are 5 kb apart in a tail-to-tail orientation. These results suggest an evolutionary scheme in which a primordial IGFBP gene duplicated to form a cluster that was later replicated to create second linkage group.