Avascular necrosis of the femoral head is a common cause of musculoskeletal disability, and it is a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Though patients are initially asymptomatic, avascular necrosis in majority of cases progresses to joint destruction, clinically manifesting before the 5 th decade of life. 1 OBJECTIVE: To estimate the role of MRI in early evaluation of painful hip joints with subtle plain radiographic findings. Material and methods: Source of Data: Patients with history

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... of acute or chronic hip pain who have been diagnosed as suffering from AVN by orthopedician are evaluated at to the department of Radio-Diagnosis, Tertiary care centre. RESULTS:In the present study, Maximum numbers of patients are belongs to age group of >7o years and majority of cases are female. Out of 35 cases are diagnosed as AVN of femoral head, only 08 cases are detected on X-Ray but, all 35 cases are detected on MRI. Conclusion: Avascular necrosis of the head of the femur bone is a common cause of musculoskeletal disability, cascading as a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Though patients are initially asymptomatic, avascular necrosis in majority of cases progresses to joint destruction, clinically manifesting before the 5 th decade of life. Femoral head is the most commonly involved site and patients regularly present with pain in hip, sometimes with referred knee pain.