The invention provides a method of controlling an MRI system and an apparatus therefor. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system includes a radio frequency (RF) coil which receives timing information about a pulse sequence and stores the timing information in a memory of the RF coil. Then, when an RF excitation signal is transmitted, the RF coil performs decoupling. When a magnetic resonance (MR) echo signal is generated, the RF coil receives the MR echo signal and transmits the MR echo signal to a central controlling apparatus through a wireless channel. When a transmission error arises, the RF coil retransmits corresponding data in an idle time when the RF excitation signal is not transmitted or the MR echo signal is not generated. Thus, the RF coil is prevented from being damaged by the RF excitation signal and prevents the quality of an MR image from deteriorating compared to a synchronization-type communication method.