OBJECTIVECompare the characteristics of magnetic resonance imaging（MRI）liver T2*, cardiac T2* and serum ferritin on the assessment of iron overload.

METHODSA total of sixty-nine patients from November 2011 to June 2014 were enrolled in this study. Their cardiac and liver iron concentration levels were measured through MRI examination, with other clinical data were collected to perform statistical analysis.

RESULTSThe correlation between liver T2* and adjusted serum ferritin（ASF） was statistically significant（P=0.003）. However, no significant correlation was found between cardiac T2* and liver T2*, ASF, respectively. According to the statistical analysis of the 69 cases, it is found that the number of iron overload cases diagnosed by liver T2* was 62 and 20 cases were severe iron overload （32.26%）; the number of iron overload cases diagnosed by ASF was 47 and 14 cases were severe iron overload（29.79%）, while the number of iron overload cases diagnosed by cardiac T2* was only 25 and no severe iron overload cases.

CONCLUSIONSince SF was affected by other factors, it cannot reflect the level of iron overload in human body objectively. Now, liver T2* has become the gold standard for assessment of iron overload because of its good reliability and repeatability. However, cardiac T2* cannot correctly be used as assessment for iron overload, and it is only a method of evaluating the level of cardiac iron deposition.