Since the emergence of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, its clinical applications have seen a logarithmic growth. The advantage of MR imaging is that it offers a vast amount of important clinical information with minimal risk to the patient, and promises to reduce the need for angiographic studies with their attendant morbidity and mortality. We review the applications and recent advances of MR imaging to include coronary imaging of native, bypassed and stented vessels, carotid arteries, peripheral arteries, and the aorta. In addition, we discuss issues of patient preferences and the future directions of MR imaging. We predict that the clinical utility of MR angiography will grow with refinements that will improve speed, resolution, and even the use of spectroscopy to characterize plaque.