G‐box cis‐acting DNA sequence elements are present in the promoter region of a number of signal‐inducible plant genes. In many cases this motif is essential for gene expression. Maize nuclear extracts contain a protein complex that binds specifically to the G‐box sequence. Previously, a protein called GF14 was described that is physically associated with the G‐box binding complex, but is not a DNA‐binding factor in and of itself. This paper reports the isolation of a cDNA encoding a maize G‐box binding factor (GBF). The deduced amino acid sequence indicates that maize GBF1 is a basic region‐leucine zipper protein. GBF1 binds to the G‐box element with specificity similar to that of the binding activity in nuclear extracts. Furthermore, maize GBF1 and the factor detected in nuclear extract are identical in their molecular weight and are immunologically related. GBF1 mRNA accumulates rapidly in hypoxically induced maize cells prior to the increase in Adh1 mRNA levels. Taken together with results that indicate that GBF1 binds to the hypoxia‐responsive promoter of maize Adh1, these observations suggest that GBF1 may be one of the factors involved in the activation of Adh1.