A male linkage map of the cattle (Bos taurus) genome was constructed using nine large half-sib families. The map consists of 269 loci, of which 249 are microsatellites and 20 are structural genes. Among the 249 microsatellites, 140 are markers selected from other maps and 98 are new assignments. Chromosome assignment were established for 35 new markers by somatic cell hybrid analysis, of which 26 were confirmed by linkage analysis. Genome coverage is 1975 cM contained within terminal markers on all 29 autosomes. The average distance between adjacent loci is 9.7 cM, with 72.1% of the map intervals < or = 15 cM and 4.9% of the intervals > or = 25 cM. The inclusion of mapped markers permitted integration and comparisons with other maps, facilitating the identification of discrepancies in chromosome assignment, gene order, and map distance. The inclusion of Type I and blood group markers in the map was useful for comparative mapping, revealing possible blood group orthologies between humans and cattle. The map generated will serve as a useful tool for comparative mapping, mapping of quantitative trait loci and marker assisted selection.