Expression of nerve growth factor receptor is normally restricted to cells derived from the neural crest in a developmentally regulated manner. We analyzed promoter sequences for the human nerve growth factor receptor gene and found that the receptor promoter resembles others which are associated with constitutively expressed genes that have housekeeping and growth-related functions. Unlike these other genes, the initiation of transcription occurred at one major site rather than at multiple sites. The constitutive nature of the nerve growth factor receptor promoter may account for the ability of this gene to be transcribed in a diverse number of heterologous cells after gene transfer. The intron-exon structure of the receptor gene indicated that structural features are precisely divided into discrete domains.