Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of diffusion weighted imaging and 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).Methods:37 cases of patients with neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy admitted in our hospital were selected as the study group,another 40 healthy neonates were selected as the control group,both groups of neonates underwent diffusion-weighted imaging and 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy,ordinary MR1 and diffusion weighted imaging findings of neonates in the study group were observed,the neonatal cerebral metabolic compounds relative concentration were observed and compared between two groups.Results:The detection rate of diffusion-weighted imaging was significantly higher compared with the ordinary MRI (P＜0.05).The relative ratio of brain metabolic compounds NAA/Cr of study group were obviously lower than those of the control group,while the Cho/Cr,MI/Cr,Glu-Glr/Cr,Lac/Cr were significantly higher (P＜0.05).Conclusion:Diffusion weighted imaging combined with 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy could improve the diagnostic accuracy of neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy,the analysis of the concentrations of brain metabolic compounds could contribute to evaluate the severity of HIE.