The low-lying levels in 59 Cr have been studied with the 13 C͑ 48 Ca, 2p͒ reaction at a beam energy of 130 MeV. Data on 59 Mn, produced via the pn-evaporation channel, have set limits on the spin of the ground state in 59 Cr and enabled some spin-parity assignments of excited states to be made. The structure obtained in this study is clearly inconsistent with results of shell-model calculations within the full fp shell and requires inclusion of the g 9/2 orbital. The sequence of states is understood within Nilsson model calculations assuming a moderate oblate ground-state deformation.