TAP is a general mRNA export receptor and is highly conserved among eukaryotes. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has another TAP‐like protein, NXF‐2, but little is known about its function. In this study, we show that NXF‐2 is specifically expressed in germ cells and forms a novel granular structure that is different from that of P granules and that NXF‐2 granules are anchored to the nuclear periphery in the mitotic region of the hermaphrodite gonad. In contrast, NXF‐2 granules are released within the whole cytoplasm in the meiotic region, where the feminization gene tra‐2 starts to function. Both inhibition of XPO‐1 (an ortholog of the export receptor CRM1) and mutation of the nuclear export signal of NXF‐2 caused the release of NXF‐2 granules from the nuclear periphery, indicating that anchoring of NXF‐2 granules depends on XPO‐1 function. Moreover, inhibition of NXF‐2 resulted in a substantial nuclear accumulation of the reporter mRNA carrying the tra‐2 3′UTR. These results suggest that, together with XPO‐1, NXF‐2 exports and anchors tra‐2 mRNA to the nuclear periphery to avoid precocious translation until the germ cells reach the meiotic region, thereby contributing to the regulation of tra‐2 mRNA expression.