In a prospective study of 30 patients with newly diagnosed spinal metastases the benefit of different imaging techniques in planning palliation was studied. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was compared to scintigraphy, conventional radiography and computerized tomography (CT), prior to radiotherapy or surgery. In the first comparison, a total of 159 pathologic lesions could be evaluated. MRI was superior in the detection of suspect metastases compared to conventional radiography and scintigraphy (P less than 0.0001 and p less than 0.01, respectively). MRI also gave useful information about adjacent soft tissue components, vessels, nerves and spinal cord compression, i.e. useful information when planning stabilizing surgery. Both MRI and CT were sensitive and specific methods but when comparing 120 pathologic lesions the detection rate of MRI was significantly higher than that of CT (p less than 0.01). In conclusion, scintigraphy and conventional radiography are adequate enough if palliative radiotherapy is planned. When considering surgery MRI is advocated preoperatively for defining operability.