The occurrence of variation in the length of DNA fragments that are produced after cleavage with a type II restriction endonuclease. The differences in DNA lengths are due to the presence or absence of recognition site(s) for that particular restriction enzyme. RFLPs were initially detected using hybridization with DNA probes after separation of digested genomic DNA by gel electrophoresis (Southern analysis). Now they are typically detected by electrophoresis of digested PCR product.