We developed a three-dimensional, gradient-recalled-echo imaging technique that incorporates a short-duration spatial-spectral excitation pulse from the family of binomial pulses. Binomial pulses of different orders were tested on phantoms and on normal volunteers to find the composite pulse that produced in the shortest duration the most reliable fat suppression. Composite pulses employing unipolar slice-selective gradients with explicit rewinder gradients between each radio-frequency (RF) pulse were compared with composite RF pulses employing alternating-polarity, slice-select gradients. The advantage of the sequences using the unipolar gradients is improved fat suppression. Images of the knees of volunteers produced with the composite RF pulse have contrast between fat and articular cartilage equivalent to that on images created by the gradient-recalled-echo imaging technique employing a conventional chemsat pulse. The optimum RF pulse consisted of three amplitude- and phase-modulated pulses combined with unipolar slice-select gradients.