Objective To explore the multimodal MRI signs of cerebral venous infarction(CVI)and its diagnostic value in order to improve the diagnostic accuracy of CVI.Methods The multimodal MRI findings of 12 patients with CVI were retrospectively analyzed and the related literatures were reviewed.Results Six cases showed cortical and subcortical brain swelling in the lesion area on plain scanning of MRI,with patchy low signal or equal signal on T1 weighted image(T1WI)and high signal on T2 weighted image(T2WI),and the lesion sites were mostly superficial,close to the cortex,and located in the area of non-arterial blood supply.The enhancement scans of two of the cases showed striated patchy or gyri-like enhancement in the acute stage,and 4 cases showed no enhancement;5 cases were located in the bilateral thalamus and basal ganglia,with more symmetrical lesions and more significant patchy enhancement on enhanced scan;1 case was located in the brainstem and cerebellar hemispheres,and showed more significant patchy enhancement on enhanced scan.Twelve cases of vasogenic edema showed equal signal or slightly high signal on diffusion weighted imaging(DWI),as the disease progressed,cytotoxic edema appeared,and the DWI showed high signal;4 cases of susceptibility weighted imaging(SWI)showed hemorrhage,venous dilatation and thrombus in the lesion area;12 cases of magnetic resonance venography(MRV)showed thrombosis in the corresponding draining vein in the lesion area.Conclusion Multimodal MRI scanning can improve the diagnostic accuracy of CVI and provide imaging basis for clinical treatment.