Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is on a rise in China. The diagnosis of CP is mainly based on the clinical history, manifestations and the clinical images. MRI is more advantageous compared with ultrasound and computed tomography because it contains information of unique chemical structure. The key advantage of MRI is that it can reflect morphological changes and the functional changes of organs, even the quantitative data and dynamics of biochemical process. This article reviews the research progress of MRI diagnosis for chronic pancreatitis.