Objective To compare the value of CT and MRI in the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Methods 60 patients with suspected acute pancreatitis treated in our hospital from January 2013 to June 2015 were treated as the research objects. All patients underwent CT and MRI examination. The imaging findings of CT and MRI were observed and compared with pathological findings. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of CT and MRI in the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis were compared. Results CT findings: acute edema type pancreatitis showed pancreatic enlargement, regular shape, relatively homogeneous pancreatic density and mild to moderate expansion of pancreatic duct and bile duct; Acute necrotizing pancreatitis showed inhomogeneous pancreatic density, significantly increased volume and patchy or large-sheet low-density lesions. MRI findings: most were obvious enlargement of the pancreas, long T1, long T2 signal in the pancreatic lesion area and the peripheral tissue of the pancreas. 48 cases were diagnosed by pathology. The sensitivity and accuracy of CT were 77.1% and 76.7% respectively which were significantly lower than those of MRI (93.8%, 93.3%) (P<0.05). Conclusion CT and MRI expression in the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis have certain diagnostic value and the diagnostic sensitivity, accuracy and specificity of MRI were higher than those of CT.