5S ribosomal RNA specifically inhibits transcription of cloned repeating units of 5S DNA in a nuclear extract of Xenopus oocytes. The inhibition can be explained by the interaction of 5S RNA with a transcription factor that binds specifically to a control region located within the 5S RNA gene. This transcription factor is identical to an abundant cytoplasmic protein that is known to be complexed with 5S RNA in immature Xenopus oocytes. Thus the presence of large amounts of this protein in these cells can account for both the high rate of synthesis and the subsequent storage of 5S RNA to ribosome synthesis.