After a few years of the use of clinically oriented imaging, magnetic resonance (MR) can now be measured against the other cross-sectional radiologic imaging techniques. Its superior sensitivity in demonstrating diseases of the central nervous system and heart has yet to be matched by similar success in the detection of abdominal disease. However, MR is evolving further and improvements in hardware, software, and pulse sequence selection are expected to continue. We present here the experience accumulated to date in the MR evaluation of the kidney in its normal and diseased states.