The incision of the 8-oxoguanine in DNA by normal and Cockayne Syndrome (CS) cell extracts has been investigated. The incision in extracts derived from CS cells was approximately 50% of the incision level compared with extracts prepared from normal cells. In contrast, the incision rate of uracil and thymine glycol was not defective in CS cells. The deficiency in 8-oxoguanine incision was also demonstrated in a CS family. Whereas the proband had markedly less incision compared with the normal siblings, the parents had intermediate levels. The low level of 8-oxoguanine-DNA glycosylase in CS extracts correlates with the reduced expression of the 8-oxoguanine-DNA glycosylase gene (hOGG1) in CS cells. Both the levels of expression of the hOGG1 gene and the incision of 8-oxoguanine in DNAincreased markedly after transfection of CS-B cells with the CSB gene. We suggest that the CSB mutation leads to deficient transcription of the hOGG1 gene and thus to deficient repair of 8-oxoguanine in DNA.