Tail kinks (tk) is a classical mouse skeletal mutation, located on Chromosome (Chr) 9. As the first step for the positional cloning of the tk gene, we have established a genetic map of a region surrounding the tk locus by generating a backcross segregating for tk. From this backcross, 1004 progeny were analyzed for the coat-color phenotype of the proximally located dilute (d) gene and for the distally flanking microsatellite marker, D9Mit12. Fifty-six recombinants between d and tk and 75 recombinants between tk and D9Mit12 were identified, completing a panel of 130 recombinants including one double recombinant. This panel allowed us to map five microsatellite loci as well as d and Mod-1 with respect to tk. We show that one of the microsatellite markers mapped, D9Mit9, does not recombine at all with tk in our backcross. This indicates that the D9Mit9 locus will serve as a good starting point for a chromosomal walk to the tk gene.