Objective To summarize the research progress of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in evaluating microvascular invasion (MVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in order to provide information and evidence for therapy of HCC. Methods Papers published from May 1950 to May 2017, were retrieved in PubMed, OVID, CNKI database using the keywords on hepatocellular carcinoma, microvascular invasion, and magnetic resonance imaging. Sixty-seven papers were retrieved in English literatures and 13 in Chinese literatures. Criteria of paper adoption: ① the imaging method was MRI; ② the assessment content was MVI of HCC; ③ the golden standard was postoperative pathologic diagnosis. fifty-four papers were finally analyzed and reviewed. Results Currently there were various ways to evaluating the MVI of HCC using MRI, including morphology, texture analysis, diffusion-weighted imaging, dynamic-enhanced MRI, fat assessment, hepatocellular function and comprehensive evaluation. Conclusions Various methods perform differently in evaluating MVI. The use of multiparametric MRI techniques offers the potential for comprehensive assessment of MVI of HCC.