This study was aimed at assessing MR utility in the evaluation of cerebral-medullar malformative pathologic conditions in infants. Among 274 patients 2 months to 15 years old examined by means of MR imaging, 51 (18.6%) were affected with cerebral-medullar abnormalities. Seventeen different types of pathologic conditions were identified, some of which single and some multiple; tethered cord was the most frequent finding. 45/51 patients affected with malformative pathologic conditions required sedation. The high incidence of malformative pathologic conditions in pediatrics highlights the importance of this subject for all the radiologists dealing with MR imaging in pediatrics. MR imaging appears to be the method of choice for the evaluation of cerebral-medullar abnormalities.