ZSCAN16 is a member of the krueppel C2H2-type zinc finger protein family. UniProt annotates it as a protein that may be involved in transcriptional regulation. The NCBI Gene summary adds that it enables sequence-specific double-stranded DNA binding activity and is predicted to be involved in regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II. This fits the general picture of a DNA-binding transcription regulator, although the specific genes it controls are not defined in the sources used here.

The ZSCAN16 protein is predicted to be located in the nucleus, which is consistent with a role in gene regulation. The HGNC classifies the gene within two groups: the C2H2-type zinc fingers and the SCAN domain containing family. Researchers studying the ZSCAN16 gene therefore often consider it alongside other SCAN domain zinc finger proteins, such as ZSCAN25.

The gene was previously named zinc finger protein 392 and zinc finger protein 435, and older literature or databases may use the symbols ZNF392 or ZNF435. Other identifiers include FLJ22191 and dJ265C24.3. Because several of these names are in circulation, it is worth checking aliases when searching for ZSCAN16 antibody or ZSCAN16 ELISA kit information, and when comparing results across publications.