The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of multidetector row helical CT (MDCT) and gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (in the detection and characterization of focal liver lesions. Two blind reviewers analyzed the MDCT and MR images of a total of 44 malignant and 85 benign lesions in 46 patients independently. Receiver operating characteristic curves were established to analyze the results for each reviewer and modality.