The clinician managing patients who have suffered trauma to the spine requires several questions answered from imaging studies. In the acute stage, a full assessment of the complete injury to the bony, ligamentous, disc and neural tissues will determine the stability of the injury and help decide the nature of clinical management, either conservative or surgical, and also help in determining the surgical approach. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is established as a vital imaging technique and can answer many of the questions posed above. The purpose of this article is to review the current status of MRI in the assessment of acute spinal trauma.