This review describes in brief recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods for assessing cardiac structure in healthy and pathologic state using diffusion-weighted (DW) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) approaches. A background on the theory and MR pulse sequences employed in DW/DT imaging is given, along with the calculation of diffusion tensor (D), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA). Parametric maps derived from DW/DT images can quantify microstructure alterations due to fibrotic collagen deposition, along with associated changes in cardiac muscle anisotropy. Representative examples of ADC and FA parametric maps are shown from