The thyroid hormone receptor alpha (THRA or c-erbA-1) gene belongs to a family of genes that encode nuclear receptors for various hydrophobic ligands such as steroids, retinoic acid and thyroid hormones. We have previously described the genomic organization of the human THRA gene, which comprises 10 exons distributed along 27 kbp of genomic DNA. We describe here a promoter that initiates THRA transcription. This promoter contains no obvious TATA-like element but is very GC rich and harbors numerous Sp1 sites. It also contains several sites similar to previously described cis-acting sequences including hormone-responsive elements (HREs). When transfected into cultured HeLa cells, it drives the expression of a CAT reporter gene. The activity of this human THRA promoter is enhanced by the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone but seems unaffected by thyroid hormones.