MR imaging of the brain in 34 patients were reviewed to characterize the MR findings of brain damage due to perinatal hypoxic insult All the patients had a history of perinatal hypoxia and showed abnormal brain MR findings. Out of 34, eight infants were born promature and twenty-six were born at term or post-term. MR findings were analysed for the extent and location of abnormalities of the white matter. cortical abnormality. corpus callosum atrophy, and abnormal progression of myelination. The major abnormalities were abnormal signal lesions or atrophy of the cerebral white matter and gyral atrophy of the cerebral cortex. The distribution of white matter lesions well correlated with maturity of the brain at the time of hypoxic insult. Periventricular and deep white matter lesions predominated in the premature-born patients. Corpus callosum atrophy was frequently seen. reflecting the location of white matter injury. Delay in myelination was present in 55%. MR is a very useful iagnostic imaging modality and guide for the prediction of prognosis by accurate depiction of the location and extent of brain damage due to perinatal hypoxic insult.