Abstract This paper reviews past and present trends in mapping the human Y chromosome. So far, mapping has essentially used a combination of cytogenetic and molecular analyses of Y-chromosomal anomalies and sex reversal syndromes. This deletion mapping culminated recently in the isolation of the putative sex-determining locus TDF. With the availability of new separation and cloning techniques suited for large size fragments (over 100 kilobases), the next step will consist rather in the establishment of a physical map of fragments of known physical sizes. This may allow the definition of several variants of the human Y chromosome differing by the order or location of DNA sequences along the molecule.