Objective To compare the clinical value of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)and echocardiography in diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).Methods 3 6 patients with HCM diagnosed clinically underwent CMR examination,and then compared with the results of echocardiography.Results 36 cases of HCM were all detected by CMR,including 15 cases of ventricular-septal HCM,5 cases of diffuse HCM,4 cases of midventricular HCM,2 cases of anterior-wall HCM and 10 cases of apical HCM.In addition,12 cases were performed enhanced-CMR scanning,and myocardial ischemia was showed in 4 cases and myocardial fibrosis in 5 cases.1 3 cases of ventricular-septal HCM,5 cases of diffuse HCM,3 cases of midventricular HCM and 1 cases of anterior-wall HCM were detected by echocardiography respectively(22/26).There was no significant difference between echocardiography and CMR(26/26)(P＞0.05).However, only 3 cases of apical HCM were detected by echocardiography (3/10)definitlely,and there was statistically significant difference between echocardiography and CMR(10/10)(P＜0.05).Additionally,on CMR theleft ventricular ejection fraction(EF)in all patients [(58.24±3.24)%] was significantly lower than the results of echocardiography [(71.20±6.24)%]and the left ventricular mass (LVM)[(126.54±36.42)g/m2 ]was higher than echocardiography [(84.54±36.42)g/m2 ],and the mean EF and LVM value had a significant difference between echocardiography and CMR (P＜0.05).Conclusion CMR imaging is superior to echocardiography in the diagnosis of HCM and evaluation of cardiac function,especially in the apical HCM.In addition,myocardial perfusion and delayed-enhanced imaging can effectively assess myocardial perfusion and viability in HCM.