Neuronal damage has been observed in the medial temporal lobe of both humans and animals following status epilepticus. The aim of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of medial temporal lobe damage in status epilepticus patients treated in hospital with a predetermined protocol and to assess whether the changes progress in a long-term follow-up. The volumes of the hippocampus, amygdala, entorhinal and perirhinal cortices were measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in nine adult patients with status epilepticus 3 weeks, 6 and 12 months after the insult. The control group included 20 healthy subjects. The etiology of status epilepticus was an acute process in one patient and a chronic process in eight cases. The mean duration of secondarily generalized tonic-clonic status epilepticus episodes was 1 h and 44 min. Volumetric MRI indicated that none of the patients developed marked volume reduction in the hippocampus, amygdala, or the entorhinal and perirhinal cortices during the 1-year follow-up period. Status epilepticus does not invariably lead to a progressive volume reduction in the medial temporal lobe structures of adult patients treated promptly in hospital with a predetermined protocol for rapid cessation of seizure activity.