Objective To observe the changes of the bilateral hippocampal volume (BHV) and 1H-MRS appearance of chronic alcohol dependent (CAD) patients and to provide quantitative information for the clinical diagnosis of CAD. Methods The conventional MR imaging including three-dimensional fast spoiled gradient recalled echo (3D-FSPGR) and 1H-MRS were performed on 16 patients with CAD (CAD group)and 18 cases of volunteer ( control group). The BHV were measured in both groups and the standardized BHV in CAD group and control group were compared. 1H-MRS metabolites including N-acetylaspartate (NAA), Choline compounds (Cho), Creatine (Cr), and myoinositol (mI) of the bilateral cephalic hippocampus were acquired. The ratios of Cho/Cr, Cho/NAA, NAA/Cr and mI/Cr within the bilateral cephalic hippocampus of the two groups were compared. The t test was used to compare the BHV and the ratios of 1H-MRS in the bilateral cephalic hippocampus between the two groups. Results In CAD group,the left and the right hippocampal volume were 1. 881 ±0. 292, 2. 139 ±0. 328 respectively while they were 2. 106 ±0. 245 and 2. 267 ±0. 271 respectively in the control group. The BHV had no significant difference between the left and the right in either the CAD group or the control group (t =0. 232, 0. 147 respectively,P ＞ 0. 05). The BHV had no significant difference between the CAD group and control group(t = 0. 424,0. 131 respectively ,P ＞0. 05 ). The Cho/Cr and NAA/Cr in the right cephalic hippocampus of the CAD group were 1. 225 ±0. 210 and 1. 145 ±0. 034 respectively, while they were 1. 429 ±0. 286, 1. 612 ±0. 444 respectively in the control group(t =0. 321,0. 408 ,P ＜0. 05 ). The Cho/NAA, mI/Cr in the right cephalic hippocampus and the Cho/Cr, Cho/NAA, NAA/Cr and mI/Cr in the left cephalic hippocampus between the two groups had no statistically significant difference. Conclusion 1H-MRS could potentially provide early diagnostic evidence for CAD patients before the onset of cerebral morphological changes.