Ten patients with squamous cell carcinomas located in the maxillo-facial region were studied. In all cases the staging by Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance (MRI) revealed metastatic lesions in stage T3-T4. All patients underwent polichemotherapy before surgery. MRI proved to be more accurate in the staging of tumors in 3 cases only, while in 7 cases both techniques showed the same diagnostic accuracy. In the follow-up, MRI allowed the evaluation of the effect of chemotherapy on the carcinomas: it demonstrated the regression and necrosis of 9 tumors out of 10 (the patients could undergo surgery), and the progression of the tumor in 1 case. The study of bioptic specimens demonstrated the lack of correlation between histological grading of the tumors with MRI signal intensity and T1, T2 relaxation time, as measured by spectroscopy.