Fragile X [fra (X)] syndrome is a frequently encountered form of mental retardation and is inherited as an X-linked semi-dominant trait with reduced penetrance. We report here the characterization of a highly polymorphic dinucleotide repeat, DXS 548, which is approximately 150 kb proximal to the fra(X) site and the associated FMR-1 gene. DXS 548 is tightly linked to the fra (X) syndrome locus (FRAXA) without recombination (LOD = 9.07 with q of 0) in selected families with crossovers between FRAXA and very closely linked flanking markers. This dinucleotide repeat could be useful in determining the parental origin of a new fra (X) mutations and evaluating the role of FMR-1 in X-linked non-specific mental retardation.