Aim To evaluate the advantage of 4D cardiac magnetic resonance (4D MR) in measuring the left ventricular function, through the comparison of left ventricular function measured by 4D MR and 3D cardiac magnetic resonance (3D MR) in healthy volunteers. Methods The stroke volumes (SV) of 9 normal volunteers were measured by 4D MR method and 3D MR method. The results were compared with those measured by phase contrast magnetic resonance method. Results There were no significant difference in left ventricular end-systolic volumes, end-diastolic volumes, SVs measured by 4D MR method and 3D MR method. SV got by 4D MR method is characterized with lower time-consumption, being less affected by the operator. Conclusion 4D MR method has the advantages of high accuracy, high repeatability, lower time-consumption, intuition and so on, and can be used as one of the main methods of clinical cardiac function examination.