Objective This study aims to explore the application value of multimodal magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI) in the diagnosis of atypical hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC) . Methods 80 patients with atypical HCC who were admitted to our hospital from August 2018 to February 2020 were selected as the research subjects. All patients underwent dynamic compu-ted tomography ( CT) enhancement scans,and then multimodal MRI scans,including an MRI plain scan,dynamic contrast-enhancement ( DCE) ,and diffusion-weighted imaging ( DWI) . Then,the image data were analyzed. Results The diagnos-tic accuracy of the observation group (95. 00%) was significantly higher than that of the control group (75. 00%). This difference was statistically significant (χ2=6. 128,P<0. 05). With the increase of the b value,the apparent diffusion coeffi-cient ( ADC) values of the liver tissue and liver cancer tissue gradually decreased. Compared with normal liver tissue,the ADC value of liver cancer tissue was significantly lower than that of normal liver tissue (P<0. 05). A plain MRI scan of 89 lesions,DCE examination of 93 lesions,(1)7 lesions were slow-rising and fast-falling;(2)72 lesions were fast-rising and fast-falling;(3)10 were platform-type lesions;(4)4 lesions had no enhancement. Conclusion The diagnostic efficiency of a multimodal MRI in the diagnosis of atypical HCC is high,and it has particular clinical application value.