Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the kidneys was performed in 14 patients with a severe form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), a major public health problem in Far Eastern Asia. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of renal assessment with MR imaging in HFRS. Three MR imaging studies were done while patients were in the oliguric phase, 19 were done during the diuretic phase, and three were done during the convalescent phase. The authors differentiated the cortex and the medulla in all 21 T1-weighted examinations and all 25 T2-weighted examinations. Seven T1-weighted examinations (33%) and 20 T2-weighted examinations (80%) showed low signal intensity along the outer portion of the medulla, which thus enabled differentiation from the inner medulla. Low signal intensity along the medulla (especially the outer medulla) on T2-weighted images, possibly representing medullary hemorrhage, is fairly constant and characteristic on MR images of the kidneys in patients with HFRS.