Recent advances have droven cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) from late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) sequence to multi-modality imaging, and CMR has become one of the imaging methods to detect myocardial histological abnormalities. CMR can provide detailed myocardial anatomical and functional information, and can accurately assess myocardial histological abnormalities from qualitative or quantitative, macroscopic or microscopic and even molecular perspectives. Various CMR methods, including LGE sequence, mapping sequence, diffusion-weighted imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, have their own advantages in the diagnosis and treatment and in deep understanding of the mechanisms. And they are of great significance for knowing and treating myocardial diseases. This review summarizes the advantages and clinical application of the myocardial tissue characterization imaging methods in evaluating different kinds of cardiomyopathy.