A rate-limiting step in abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis in plants is catalyzed by 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED).Here we present the cloning, characterization of a cDNA from dehydrated peanut (Arachis hygogaea L.) leaves that encodes aputative NCED. The 2486-bp full-length cDNA (designated as AhNCED1), obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends(RACE), has an open reading frame of 601 amino acid residues and encodes a protein with a calculated molecular weight of66.86 kDa and an isoelectric point of 8.39. Sequence analysis shows that the deduced amino acid sequence of AhNCED1shares high identity with the reported NCED protein sequences. There is a 30-amino-acid chloroplast-targeting peptide at theN-terminus of the AhNCED1 protein predicted by iPSORTalgorithm. Semi-quantification by duplex RT-PCR reveals thatthe expression of AhNCED1 is up-regulated by dehydration and that rehydration represses its expression. The organ specificexpression pattern of AhNCED1 has been examined, which indicates its dominant expression in leaves and stems. Molecularanalysis of the drought-inducible gene of peanut may be useful to investigate the response of agricultural crops to droughtstress.