Zinc-finger proteins contain DNA-binding domains and have a wide variety of functions, most of which encompass some form of transcriptional activation or repression. The majority of zinc-finger proteins contain a Krüppel-type DNA binding domain and a KRAB domain, which is thought to interact with KAP1, thereby recruiting histone modifying proteins. As a member of the krueppel C2H2-type zinc-finger protein family, ZNF516 is a 1,163 amino acid nuclear protein that contains ten C2H2-type zinc-fingers. The gene encoding ZNF516 maps to human chromosome 18, in a region that is frequently found to be affected in 18q deletion syndrome, a multiple-anomaly mental retardation syndrome that is associated with congenital aural atresia.