Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), also known as a cofactor of DNA polymerase δ, is required for eukaryotic cell DNA synthesis and nucleotide excision repair. Expression of PCNA gene is growth‐regulated and UV inducible. In our previous study, we have observed that the rat PCNA promoter has the serum responsiveness. In this study, we demonstrate its UV inducibility in CHO.K1 cells. The UV induction of the rat PCNA promoter activity was dose‐dependent in the cells synchronized at different phases. In addition, the sequences of the promoter responsible for the UV inducibility were delimited to the region between nucleotides −70 and +125, which contains an AP‐1 site and a downstream proximal ATF/CRE site. While mutation of the AP‐1 site abrogated the UV inducibility, mutation of the ATF/CRE site enhanced the UV inducibility, suggesting that the two sites play different roles in the UV induction of the promoter. In addition, the role of p53 in the UV induction of rat PCNA promoter was investigated. We found that exogenous p53 was unable to mimic the UV irradiation to induce rat PCNA promoter and that the UV induction of the rat PCNA promoter was seen in p53 deficient cells. Therefore, it is unlikely that the UV induction of the rat PCNA promoter is p53 dependent. J. Cell. Biochem. 73:423–432, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.