The chromosomal DNA fragment from Phaffia rhodozyma CBS 6938 which is able to autonomously replicate in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cloned on an integrative URA3 plasmid. Its minimal fragment exhibiting autonomously replicating activiy in the S. cerevisiae gave a higher frequency transformation efficiency than that found for centromere-based plasmid, and enabled extrachromosoma1ly stable transmission of the plasmids in one copy per yeast cell under non-selective culture condition. The 836-bp DNA element lacked an ORF and did not contain any acceptable match to an ARS core consensus. Sequence analysis, however, displayed a cluster of three hairpin-Ioop-sequences with individual $ riangle {G_{25}}^{circ}C$ free energy value of -10.0, -17.5, and -17.0 kcal. $mor^{-l}$as well as a 9-bp sequence with two base pair mismatches to the S. cerevisiae/E. coli gyrase-binding site. This 836-bp sequence also included one 7-bp sequence analogous to the core consensus of centromeric DNA element III (CDEIII) of S. cerevisiae, but CDEIII-like 7 bp sequence alone did not give a replicative function in this yeast.