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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables in vivo imaging of organisms. The recent development of the magnetic resonance microscope (MRM) has enabled organisms within the size range of many insects to be imaged. Here, we introduce the principles of MRI and MRM and review their use in entomology. We show that MRM has been successfully applied in studies of parasitology, development, metabolism, biomagnetism and morphology, and the advantages and disadvantages relative to other imaging techniques are discussed. In addition, we illustrate the images that can be obtained using MRM. We conclude that although MRM has significant potential, further improvements to the technique are still desirable if it is to become a mainstream imaging technology in entomology. Abbreviation: CSI chemical shift imaging. The dependence of the resonance frequency of a nucleus on the chemical binding of the atom or molecule in which it is contained. (N)MRI (nuclear) magnetic resonance imaging MRM magnetic resonance microscopy Voxel A contraction for volume element, which is the basic unit of MR reconstruction; represented as a pixel in the display of the MR image.