Objective To investigate the value of magnetic resonance (MR) in the diagnosis of carotid vulnerable plaques in patients with ischemic stroke.Methods A total of 38 patients with first-episode or recurrent ischemic stroke confirmed by brain MR imaging and carotid stenosis confirmed by ultrasonography were selected, and multi-sequence and multi-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced MR scanning was performed for all the patients.Results Analysis of MR images showed that there were 20 cases of common carotid artery bifurcation stenosis, 18 cases of internal carotid artery stenosis or occlusion, 8 cases of calcification, 19 cases without calcified fibers, 6 cases of obvious lipid core, 2 cases of intraplaque hemorrhage, 2 cases of lipid/necrotic core, and 1 case of ulcer or fibrous cap rupture.Objective Multi-sequence and multi-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced MR scanning can clearly display the composition of carotid vulnerable plaques and observe the changes of vulnerable plaques.