Cerebral venous thrombosis has traditionally been considered to be a severe and rare condition. Our knowledge of this condition has increased, however, along with the development of better radiological methods for visualization of the brain and its vasculature. Cerebral angiography, computed tomography (CT) and, in particular, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have made it easier to diagnose this condition earlier. It has thus been discovered that cerebral venous thrombosis occurs more frequently than previously supposed and shows a wide variation of the clinical spectrum. We describe a series of eight patients with cerebral venous thrombosis who were admitted to the Neurosurgical Department, Haukeland Hospital, over a period of three years. The presentation shows the great variation in the clinical and radiological picture of this disease and the consequent diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. We conclude that this diagnosis should be considered in patients with cerebral symptoms of uncertain cause, and that MRI is an important tool in diagnosis.