To identify Xenopus hox genes which has not been cloned so far, as a preliminary study, we studied the expression pattern of mouse hox-1.7 related genes in Xenopus laevis. Of the studied mouse box genes, hox-1.7 showed specific expression pattern in the early development. To clone the counterpart gene of mouse hox-1.7 in Xenopus, mouse hox-1.7 related gene fragment was obtained by PCR using primers that correspond to the N-terminal coding region of the Xenopus borealis Hox-1.7 and the third helical portions of the homeodomain. The PCR product was 165 by and in situ hybridization study showed that the Xenopus hox-1.7 gene expressed at st. 33/34 and in the dorsal region of the embryo including head, brain, and somites but not in the skin and endoderm. Compared with mouse hox-1.7(mainly localized at posterior spinal cord) and Xenopus borealis hox-1.7(mainly at epidermis and spinal cord), its expression pattern was much different.