Three hundred eighty reciprocal backcross and F(2) full sib progeny from 33 families produced by embryo transfer from 77 Angus (Bos taurus), Brahman (Bos indicus), and F1 parents and grandparents were used to construct genetic maps of the bovine X and Y chromosomes. Ml individuals were scored for 15 microsatellite loci, with an average of 608 informative meioses per locus. The length of the bovine X chromosome genetic map was 118.7 cM (female only) and of the pseudoautosomal region was 13.0 cM (male only). The 15-marker framework map in Kosambi centimorgans is [BM6017-6.1 -TGLA89-35.8-TEXAN13-3.4-TGLA128-1.3 -BM2713 -21.1 -BM4604-2.4-BR215 - 12.9-TGLA68-10.0-BM4321 - 1.0-HEL14-4.9-TGLA15-2.3-INRA12O- 12.5-TGLA325- 1.6-MAF45-3.2-INRA3O], with an average interval of 7.91 cM. Clones containing pseudoautosomal or sex-linked microsatellites were isolated from a bovine bacterial artificial chromosome library and were physically mapped to bovine metaphase chromosomes by fluorescence in situ hybridization to orient the X and Y chromosome maps. BAC57, containing the pseudoautosomal microsatellite INRA3O, mapped to the distal end of the long arm of the X chromosome at q42-ter and to the short arm of the Y chromosome at p13-ter. This confirms the published assignment of this region to Ypl2-ter, but challenges the published assignment of Xpl4-ter and thus reorients the X chromosome physical map. BAC2O4, containing the X-linked microsatellite BM4604, mapped to the middle of the long arm of the X chromosome at q26-q31. The position of the physically mapped markers indicates either a lack of microsatellite markers for a large (30 to 50 cM) region of the short arm of the X chromosome or heterogeneity of recombination along the X chromosome.