The transcriptional coactivator p/CIP is a member of a family of nuclear receptor coactivator/steroid receptor coactivator (NCoA/SRC) proteins that mediate the transcriptional activities of nuclear hormone receptors. We have found that p/CIP is predominantly cytoplasmic in a large proportion of cells in various tissues of the developing mouse and in a number of established cell lines. In mouse embryonic fibroblasts, serum deprivation results in the redistribution of p/CIP to the cytoplasmic compartment and stimulation with growth factors or tumor-promoting phorbol esters promotes p/CIP shuttling into the nucleus. Cytoplasmic accumulation of p/CIP is also cell cycle dependent, occurring predominantly during the S and late M phases. Leptomycin B (LMB) treatment results in a marked nuclear accumulation, suggesting that p/CIP undergoes dynamic nuclear export as well as import. We have identified a strong nuclear import signal in the N terminus of p/CIP and two leucine-rich motifs in the C terminus that resemble CRM-1-dependent nuclear export sequences. When fused to green fluorescent protein, the nuclear export sequence region is cytoplasmic and is retained in the nucleus in an LMB-dependent manner. Disruption of the leucine-rich motifs prevents cytoplasmic accumulation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that cytoplasmic p/CIP associates with tubulin and that an intact microtubule network is required for intracellular shuttling of p/CIP. Immunoaffinity purification of p/CIP from nuclear and cytosolic extracts revealed that only nuclear p/CIP complexes possess histone acetyltransferase activity. Collectively, these results suggest that cellular compartmentalization of NCoA/SRC proteins could potentially regulate nuclear hormone receptor-mediated events as well as integrating signals in response to different environmental cues.