The intent of this presentation is to provide a basic overview of preclinical MRI at ultra-high magnetic field. In conjunction with the high field magnet, other hardware components such as gradient coils and radiofrequency detectors are critical in obtaining the sensitivity and spatial resolutions needed to image small animals. The enhanced magnetic susceptibility contrast enables high-resolution functional MRI studies allowing the characterization of neuronal activity in specific brain structures and makes possible the direct comparison with non-MR microscopic techniques. Besides functional MRI, UHF is particularly advantageous for applications such as chemical exchange saturation transfer, spectroscopy imaging and non-proton imaging.