The centrosome is an important cellular organelle which nucleates microtubules (MTs) to form the cytoskeleton during interphase and the mitotic spindle during mitosis. The Cep290 is one of the centrosomal proteins and functions in cilia formation. Even-though it is in the centrosome, the function of Cep290 in mitosis had not yet been evaluated. In this study, we report a novel function of Cep290 that is involved in spindle positioning. Cep290 was identified as an interacting partner of DDA3, and we confirmed that Cep290 specifically localizes in the mitotic centrosome. Depletion of Cep290 caused a reduction of the astral spindle, leading to misorientation of the mitotic spindle. MT polymerization also decreased in Cep290-depleted cells, suggesting that Cep290 is involved in spindle nucleation. Furthermore, DDA3 stabilizes and transports Cep290 to the centrosome. Therefore, we concluded that DDA3 controls astral spindle formation and spindle positioning by targeting Cep290 to the centrosome. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.