The complete coding sequences of a cattle gene - the glucan (1,4-alpha-), branching enzyme 1 (glycogen branching enzyme), GBE1, was amplified using the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based on the conserved coding sequence information of the human, mouse and highly homologous cattle ESTs. Sequence analysis revealed that cattle GBE1 has high homology with the GBE1 from six species: dog (92%), cat (91%), horse (91%), human (89%), mouse (88%) and rat (88%). The phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that the cattle GBE1 has closer genetic relationships with the GBE1 of dog and cat. Tissue expression profile analysis revealed that the cattle GBE1 gene was highly expressed in liver, moderately expressed in muscle and fat, weakly expressed in kidney, small intestine, large intestine, heart and lung. Our experiment established the primary foundation for further research on the cattle GBE1 gene.