Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) in focal nodular lesions of the liver. Methods A total of 80 cases of focal nodular lesions of liver in our hospital from September 2016 to December 2017 were selected, including 20 cases of hepatic hemangioma, 26 cases of hepatic metastases and 34 cases of primary liver cancer. All patients accepted DWI and DCE-MRI examination respectively. The ADC values and the types of PV, MSD, PEI, SER, MSI and dynamic contrast-enhanced scan curves in different focal nodular lesions of the liver were analyzed, and the differences in the diagnosis of focal nodular lesions of the liver by DWI alone, DCE-MRI alone, DWI associated with DCE-MRI were compared. Results There were a significant difference in the ADC value among different focal nodular lesions of the liver(P＜0.05). In multiple comparison, the ADC value of liver metastases was higher than that of primary liver cancer(P＜0.05). The ADC value of hepatic hemangioma was higher than that of liver metastases(P＜0.05). There were significant differences in PV, MSD, PEI and MSI among different focal nodular lesions of the liver(P＜0.05). There were no significant differences in SER among the three groups(P＞0.05). In multiple comparison, the PV, MSD, PEI and MSI of liver metastases were lower than those of primary liver cancer(P＜0.05). The PV, MSD, PEI and MSI of hepatic hemangioma were higher than those of primary liver cancer and liver metastases(P＜0.05). There were significant differences in the types of dynamic enhanced scan curves among primary liver cancer, liver metastases and hepatic hemangioma(P＜0.05). The combined diagnosis of primary liver cancer, hepatic metastases, and hepatic hemangioma (97.06%, 100%, 100%) was higher than that of DWI and DCE-MRI alone(P＜0.05). Conclusion The combination of DCE-MRI and DWI helps to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the focal nodular lesions in liver, it is helpful to differentiate benign and malignant lesions, and provides a certain reference for the clinical formulation of targeted treatment.