We have recently described a novel autosomal recessive disorder, lethal congenital contractural syndrome type 2 (LCCS2) (OMIM 607598), in a large Israeli Bedouin kindred. The phenotype, which is lethal in the neonatal period, is distinguished by the presence of a markedly distended urinary bladder. Association of LCCS2 to the known loci associated with arthogryposis was excluded. In the present study, we set out to determine the genetic locus harboring the gene defective in this disease. We performed genome‐wide linkage analysis, demonstrating linkage to a ∼6 cM (corresponding to ∼7.2 Mb) homozygosity region on chromosome 12q13 between markers D12S1604 and D12S83. Based on recombination events, the interval harboring the disease‐associated locus was further narrowed to a region spanning ∼6 cM (∼6.4 Mb) between D12S325 and D12S1072. Linkage of LCCS2 to that locus was established, with two significant maximum peaks at markers D12S1604 (Z_max = 10.56 at θ = 0.01) and D12S1700 (Z_max = 9.23 at θ = 0.00). © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.