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Objective To investigate the value of T1 relaxation time (T1post) and hepatocyte fraction through gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of hepatic fibrosis stages. Methods Eighty-five patients with chronic hepatitis B were collected. According to the biopsy or surgical pathological examination results, there were 19 cases of hepatic fibrosis in stage 1 (S1), 21 cases of hepatic fibrosis in stage 2 (S2), 23 cases of hepatic fibrosis in stage 3 (S3), and 22 cases of hepatic fibrosis in stage 4 (S4); 20 patients without a history of hepatitis who underwent abdominal surgery due to liver benign lesions were selected as the control group, and the stage of hepatic fibrosis was S0. Patients were examined by MRI, and T1 mapping images were collected before and 20 minutes after Gd-EOB-DTPA enhancement. First, image reconstruction was performed, and then two experienced radiologists delineated the spleen and liver regions of interest respectively on the reconstructed images, measured and calculated the T1 relaxation time of the liver parenchyma (T1post), the reduction rate of T1 relaxation time (ΔT1), hepatocyte fraction (HeF), and uptake coefficient (K). Intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to analyze the consistency of T1post, ΔT1, HeF and K between the two radiologists. The values of T1post, ΔT1, HeF and K in each stage of hepatic fibrosis were compared. Spearman correlation analysis was utilized to assess the correlation between the parameters and stages of hepatic fibrosis. The ROC curve of MedCalc statistical software was used to identify the diagnostic efficacy of adjacent stages of hepatic fibrosis. Results The ICC of T1post，ΔT1，HeF，and K obtained by the two radiologists were 0. 998, 0. 996, 0. 996 and 0. 999, respectively, which were in good agreement. There were statistically significant differences in T1post, ΔT1, HeF, and K in each stage of hepatic fibrosis (all P<0. 05). T1post was positively correlated with hepatic fibrosis stage (r=0. 868，P<0. 01), while HeF, K and ΔT1 were negatively correlated with hepatic fibrosis stage (r=-0. 880, -0. 787, and-0. 710, all P<0. 01). T1post and HeF were significant for the evaluation of S0 and S1 stages of hepatic fibrosis (both P<0. 05), but there were no significant differences in sensitivity, specificity or accuracy in differentiating S0 and S1 of hepatic fibrosis between them (all P>0. 05). HeF and K were significant for the assessment of S1 and S2 of hepatic fibrosis (both P<0. 05), but there were no significant differences in their sensitivity, specificity or accuracy in differentiating S1 and S2 of hepatic fibrosis between them (all P>0. 05). T1post, HeF, K and Δ T1 were significant for the assessment of S2 and S3 of hepatic fibrosis (all P<0. 05), all parameters had higher sensitivity, specificity and accuracy in differentiating S2 and S3 of hepatic fibrosis, and there was no significant difference between every two of them (all P>0. 05). HeF and K were significant for the assessment of S3 and S4 of hepatic fibrosis (both P<0. 05), the sensitivity of HeF in differentiating S3 and S4 of hepatic fibrosis was lower than that of K, but its specificity was higher (both P<0. 05), and there was no significant difference in the accuracy between them (P>0. 05). Conclusion It is valuable to detect T1 relaxation time and hepatocyte fraction in different stages of hepatic fibrosis by Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]