RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) is a popular technique to rapidly obtain the full-length cDNA. After obtaining the 3' cDNA and 5' cDNA fragments with a overlapped region by 3' RACE and 5' RACE, the full-length cDNA could be generated by end-to-end PCR or subcloning. In this study, 3' RACE combined with touch-down PCR was successfully used for the rapid construction of full-length MnSOD cDNA of chickens. Compared with the conventional end-to-end PCR or subcloning, this method, called one-step 3' RACE, is fast, economical and highly specific. It especially fits the rapid construction of full-length cDNA by RACE method.