Objective To assess the effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cine magnetic resonance imaging (cine MRI) in the diagnosis of infantile congenital heart disease Methods A total of 34 cases were studied with MRI and cine MRI The data were analyzed and compared with those of two dimensional echocardiography (2DE), cardioangiography (CAG) and surgery Results The size of the defect or its caliber obtained from MRI in 6 patients with left to right shunt congenital heart disease was compatible with that observed in surgery ( P =0 924) Comparison of cine MRI and CAG in 28 patients with complicated congenital heart disease showed that the diagnosis of 27 cases by cine MRI was the same as that by CAG Conclusion Both MRI and cine MRI play an important role in diagnosing infantile congenital heart disease