Inheritance of resistance to covered smut in the barley line Q21861 was studied using a doubled-haploid population produced by crossing Q21861 with the line SM89010. Based on 3 years of screening in the field and two seasons in the greenhouse, segregation for resistance/susceptibility fits a one-gene ratio, indicating a single major gene for resistance in Q21861. Of 440 random 10-mer primers tested using bulked segregant analysis, one primer (OPJ10) resulted in a reproducible polymorphic band. RAPD marker OPJ10450 co-segregated in repulsion with the covered smut resistance. This marker was converted to a sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker linked in coupling (5.5 cM) with the covered smut resistant gene in Q21861. The SCAR marker was amplified in the line TR640 which is also resistant to covered smut, but not in the other resistant lines. The SCAR marker will be useful for marker-assisted selection for covered smut in barley breeding programs.