Objective To assess the effect of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on preoperative staging of endometrial carcinoma and depth of myometrial invasion. Methods Fifty-six patients with endometrial carcinoma were underwent conventional and contrast-enhanced MR scan. The results of pathology , MRI examinations of preoperative staging and depth of myometrial invasion were assessed and compared. Results The accurate rate of MRI diagnosis in preoperative staging diagnosis was 82.1% (46/56) and the consistency check as Kappa was 0.771 (P < 0.001). Conclusions MRI may be a good diagnostic tool with high sensitivity and specificity for assessing myometrial invasion and detecting tumour extension and should be considered as a routine part of the preoperative assessment in all patients with endometrial carcinoma.