The Asian Vigna group of grain legumes consists of six domesticated species, among them black gram is widely grown in South Asia and to a lesser extent in Southeast Asia. We report the first genetic linkage map of black gram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper], constructed using a BC(1)F(1) population consisting of 180 individuals. The BC(1)F(1) population was analyzed in 61 SSR primer pairs, 56 RFLP probes, 27 AFLP loci and 1 morphological marker. About 148 marker loci could be assigned to the 11 linkage groups, which correspond to the haploid chromosome number of black gram. The linkage groups cover a total of 783 cM of the black gram genome. The number of markers per linkage group ranges from 6 to 23. The average distance between adjacent markers varied from 3.5 to 9.3 cM. The results of comparative genome mapping between black gram and azuki bean show that the linkage order of markers is highly conserved. However, inversions, insertions, deletions/duplications and a translocation were detected between the black gram and azuki bean linkage maps. The marker order on parts of linkage groups 1, 2 and 5 is reversed between the two species. One region on black gram linkage group 10 appears to correspond to part of azuki bean linkage group 1. The present study suggests that the azuki bean SSR markers can be widely used for Asian Vigna species and the black gram genetic linkage map will assist in improvement of this crop.