CU Tauri: A W UMa-type system with a small mass ratio

New BV light curves and photometric solutions of the W UMa-type contact binary CU Tau are presented in this paper. From the observations, four times of minimum light were determined and from the present times of minimum light and those collected from the references, a new ephemeris was formed. The O-C diagram of the period change suggests that the orbital period of the system seems to vary. While the B light curve seems to be symmetric, the V light curve appears to exhibit an O'Connell effect, with Maximum I being 0.015 mag. brighter than Maximum II. The light curves are analyzed by means of the latest version of the Wilson-Devinney code. The results show that CU Tau is A-subtype W UMa contact binary with a small mass ratio q = 0.180. The asymmetry of the light curve is explained by star spot models.