The widespread prevalence of atherosclerotic vascular disease has given rise to the need for a noninvasive imaging examination. Magnetic resonance imaging has been shown to allow assessment of early arterial disease non-invasively and without the use of ionising radiation. Arterial compliance, pulse wave velocity, and the pattern of flow within the aorta may all be disturbed by disease and these parameters can be measured by magnetic resonance. In addition, atheroma can be imaged directly, its size measured, its shape described, its lipid content assessed, and its effects upon vascular haemodynamics studied. Magnetic resonance imaging is thus a potential tool not only for the detection of disease but also for studying its natural history and the effects of interventions, such as the control of risk factors and of lipid lowering agents.