Cholesteatoma is a collection of keratinous debris and stratified squamous epithelium.It is trapped in the middle ear and can lead to bony erosion.The disease is treated surgically often followed by a second-look procedure to check for residual tissue or recurrence.Cholesteatoma has specific signal-intensity characteristics on magnetic resonance imaging with very high signal intensity on diffusion weighted imaging(DWI).Various DWI techniques exist:Echo-planar imaging(EPI)-based and non-EPI-based techniques as well as new approaches like multi-shot EPI DWI.This article summarizes all techniques,discusses the significance in detecting cholesteatoma and mentions actual studies.Further recommendations for daily clinical practise are provided.