To describe and determine the prevalence of atraumatic medial collateral oedema identified in patients with medial compartment osteoarthritis.Sixty patients, 30 patients with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren and Lawrence grade 2 to 4) and 30 age-matched patients with atraumatic knee pain without osteoarthritis, referred for MR imaging over a 2 year period were included in the study. In each case, severity of osteoarthritis was recorded on radiographs and correlated with the presence or absence of medial collateral ligament oedema at MR imaging.Medial collateral oedema was identified in 27 of the 30 patients with osteoarthritis, of whom 14 had grade 1 oedema and 13 had grade 2 oedema compared with the presence of medial collateral ligament oedema (grade 1) in only two of the 30 control patients without osteoarthritis ( P<<0.0001).Medial collateral oedema is common in patients with osteoarthritis in the absence of trauma. When identified, medial collateral ligament oedema should be considered to be a feature of osteoarthritis and should not be incorrectly attributed to an acute traumatic injury.