Objective To explore the application value of neck vascular color Doppler ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in carotid artery stenosis. Methods The clinical data of 86 patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease admitted to the Bo'ai Hospital of Yan'an from January 2016 to January 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. A total of 40 cases with MRI were included in group A, and 46 cases with neck vascular color Doppler ultrasound were included in group B. The two groups were accepted digital subtraction angiography (DSA) examination. The DSA test results were taken as "gold standard", and the diagnostic value of MRI and neck vascular color Doppler ultrasound on carotid artery stenosis was evaluated, and the imaging features of disease were analyzed. Results The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MRI detection for carotid artery stenosiswere 93.33%, 86.67% and 90.67% for grade 1, were 75.00%, 94.92% and 90.67% for grade 2, and were 90.91%, 98.44% and 97.33% for grade 3, and were 100%, 100% and 100% for grade 4. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of neck vascular color Doppler ultrasound examination for carotid artery stenosis were 92.16%, 90.63% and 91.57% for grade 1, and were 82.35%, 92.43% and 90.36% for grade 2, and were 83.33%, 98.59% and 96.39% for grade 3, and were 100%, 100% and 100% for grade 4. Conclusion Both of MRI and neck vascular color Doppler ultrasound have high diagnostic accuracy for carotid artery stenosis, and both of the two methods have high clinical application value.