eIF-4A is a eukaryotic translation initiation factor that is required for mRNA binding to ribosomes. It exhibits single-stranded RNA-dependent ATPase activity, and in combination with a second initiation factor, eIF-4B, it exhibits duplex RNA helicase activity. eIF-4A is the prototype of a large family of proteins termed the DEAD box protein family, whose members share nine highly conserved amino acid regions. The functions of several of these conserved regions in eIF-4A have previously been assigned to ATP binding, ATPase, and helicase activities. To define the RNA-binding region of eIF-4A, a UV-induced cross-linking assay was used to analyze binding of mutant eIF-4A proteins to RNA. Mutants carrying mutations in the ATP-binding region (AXXXXGKT), ATPase region (DEAD), helicase region (SAT), and the most carboxy-terminal conserved region of the DEAD family, HRIGRXXR, were tested for RNA cross-linking. We show that mutations, either conservative or not, in any one of the three arginines in the HRIGRXXR sequence drastically reduced eIF-4A cross-linking to RNA. In addition, all the mutations in the HRIGRXXR region abrogate RNA helicase activity. Some but not all of these mutations affect ATP binding and ATPase activity. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the HRIGRXXR region is involved in the ATP hydrolysis reaction and would explain the coupling of ATPase and RNA-binding/helicase activities. Our results show that the HRIGRXXR region, which is QRXGRXXR or QXXGRXXR in the RNA and DNA helicases of the helicase superfamily II, is involved in ATP hydrolysis-dependent RNA interaction during unwinding. We also show that mutations in other regions of eIF-4A that abolish ATPase activity sharply decrease eIF-4A cross-linking to RNA. A model is proposed in which eIF-4A first binds ATP, resulting in a change in eIF-4A conformation which allows RNA binding that is dependent on the HRIGRXXR region. Binding of RNA induces ATP hydrolysis, leading to a more stable interaction with RNA. This process is then linked to unwinding of duplex RNA in the presence of eIF-4B.