Objective To compare the clinical value of preoperative CT and MRI in the diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer. Methods 41 patient with invasive cervical cancer confirmed by surgery and pathology in our hospital from January 2014 to December 2015 were treated as the study object. All patients underwent MRI and CT examination before operation. Taking postoperative pathological staging as control, the diagnostic value of CT and MRI in preoperative staging of cervical cancer was compared. Meanwhile, the results of postoperative pathological examination were taken as control to the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MRI and CT in the diagnosis of vaginal invasion, lymph node metastasis and other signs. Results Taking postoperative pathological staging as the control, the coincidence rate of preoperative CT in diagnosis of clinical staging was 75.6% while of MRI was 90.2%; The coincidence rate of preoperative MRI in diagnosis of I B1 stage and below (85.7%) was significantly higher than that of CT (50.0%) (P<0.05). Compared with the postoperative pathological signs, the accuracy rate of CT in diagnosis of virginal invasion (68.3%) was significantly lower that of MRI (90.2%) (P<0.05); The specificity and accuracy of CT in the diagnosis of uterine body invasion (100.0%, 97.6%) were significantly higher than those of MRI (87.1%, 85.4%) (P<0.05); The specificity and accuracy of CT in diagnosis of pelvic lymph node metastasis (100.0%, 92.7%) were significantly higher than those of MRI (81.5%, 70.7%) (P<0.05). Conclusion The diagnostic value of preoperative MRI in IIA or below stage of invasive cervical cancer is significantly better than CT while in the diagnosis of IIA or above lesions is not as good as CT. MRI is more accurate in the diagnosis of vaginal infiltration and CT is more valuable in the diagnosis of uterine body invasion and pelvic lymph node metastasis