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<p>Intramuscular fat (IMF) content plays a key role in establishing pork quality. In the present study, differential-display reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (DDRT-PCR) was used to identify differentially expressed (DE) genes between <i>longissimus dorsi </i>(LD) muscles with extremely different IMF content. A major DE gene associated with IMF content was identified as splicing factor serine-arginine rich protein (<i>SFRS18</i>) gene, also known as SRrp130. The gene exhibited relatively higher expression levels in LD muscles with higher IMF content. A full-length cDNA sequence of pig <i>SFRS18</i> gene was obtained by <i>in silico</i> comparative cloning coupled with PCR target sequencing, while the current EST (expressed sequence tag) database supported two transcript variants of the pig gene. Differential expression of the <i>SFRS18</i> gene was further confirmed using quantitative PCR. The mRNA levels of <i>SFRS18</i> gene showed significant and positive correlation with IMF content in LD muscle (r = 0.54, P &#60; 0.01). Collectively, these results suggest that the <i>SFRS18</i> gene is involved in the regulation of IMF deposition in pig and that it may be a useful tool in selecting animals for desired amounts of fatness for high quality pork.</p>