To improve the activity and the cell specificity of gene transfer of polyamidoamine starburst dendrimer, we prepared alpha-CyD conjugates with mannosylated dendrimers (generation 2 (G2), man-alpha-CDE conjugates) having various degrees of substitution (DS) of mannose residue. The man-alpha-CDE conjugates (DS 1, 3 and 5) formed complexes with plasmid DNA (pDNA), but man-alpha-CDE conjugate (DS 8) did not. The gene transfer activity of man-alpha-CDE conjugates (DS 1, 3 and 5) and alpha-CDE conjugate was augmented with an increase in the charge ratio of vector/pDNA, without showing cytotoxicity. Man-alpha- CDE conjugates (DS 3 and 5) showed higher gene transfer activity than alpha-CDE conjugate in A549 cells, which recognize mannose, but man-alpha-CDE conjugates (DS 1 and 8) showed almost comparable gene transfer activity to alpha-CDE conjugate (G2). On the other hand, no appreciable enhancing effect of man-alpha-CDE conjugates (DS 3 and 5) on the transfer activity was observed in NIH3T3 cells, which do not recognize mannose. These findings suggest that man-alpha-CDE conjugates (DS 3 and 5) can be new preferable cell-specific non-viral vectors of pDNA to cells which recognize the mannose moiety.