Progressive pseudorheumatoid dysplasia (PPD), MIM 208230, is an autosomal-recessive disorder, clinically characterized by spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia and progressive arthropathy. Linkage analysis of three families of different geographic and ethnic origin, including 11 affected individuals, showed strong evidence for localization of a gene for progressive pseudorheumatoid dysplasia to chromosome 6q with a maximum two-point lod score for D6S1647 of 8.34 at theta=0. Analysis of regions of homozygosity placed the gene in a 3-cM interval between D6S 1594 and D6S432. No significant shared haplotype was found for markers of the linked interval in the three families analyzed. Five genes encoding collagen and one encoding a specific procollagen-processing enzyme that map near this interval represent good candidates for the PPD gene.