Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are 42- and 44-kD serine-threonine protein kinases that are activated by tyrosine and threonine phosphorylation in cells stimulated with mitogens and growth factors. MAP kinase and the protein kinase that activates it (MAP kinase kinase) were constitutively activated in NIH 3T3 cells infected with viruses containing either of two oncogenic forms (p35EC12, p3722W) of the c-Raf-1 protein kinase. The v-Raf proteins purified from cells infected with EC12 or 22W viruses activated MAP kinase kinase from skeletal muscle in vitro. Furthermore, a bacterially expressed v-Raf fusion protein (glutathione S-transferase-p3722W) also activated MAP kinase kinase in vitro. These findings suggest that one function of c-Raf-1 in mitogenic signaling is to phosphorylate and activate MAP kinase kinase.