The mRNA for type II collagen was purified from embryonic chick sternum or from purified sternal chondrocytes with guanidine thiocyanate as the extractant. Double-stranded cDNAs to procollagen mRNAs from sternum were synthesized and dC-tailed. After annealing with PstI-cleaved, dG-tailed pBR322, this DNA was used to transform Escherichia coli X1776. Transformed colonies were screened by colony hybridization to type I and II collagen cDNAs. Clones that preferentially hybridized to type II cDNA were characterized further. Four such cDNA clones, pCgII-2, 3, 10 and 12, with inserts of 400, 320, 260 and 750 bp, have been identified as type II collagen cDNA clones by several criteria, including their preference for hybridizing with type II rather than type I collagen mRNAs in hybrid-selected translation experiments.