AbstractRapid volumetric magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) is potentially of great relevance to the diagnosis and treatment of focal cerebral diseases such as cancer and epilepsy. A strategy for volumetric multishot echo‐planar spectroscopic imaging (MEPSI) is described which allows whole‐brain metabolite mapping in approximately 20 min. A multishot trajectory is used in both the spatial and temporal domains which reduces the accumulated phase during each echo train and tolerates conventional Fourier reconstruction without regridding. Also described is a generalized correction for phase discontinuities arising from the multishot acquisition of the time domain, which is independent of the spatial k‐space trajectory and is therefore also applicable to multishot spiral MRSI. Whole‐brain, lipid‐suppressed MEPSI data were acquired from five normal subjects. The mean signal‐to‐noise ratios (SNRs) (±SE) for the n‐acetylaspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), and creatine (Cr) maps across all subjects were 21.3 ± 1.8, 11.7 ± 0.6, and 9.2 ± 0.6, respectively, with a computed voxel size of 2.33 ml. Magn Reson Med 46:219–227, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.