There is disclosed a magnetic resonance imaging method which permits a scan to be made in a short time by collecting only the data that is used to reconstruct an image. The method is initiated by defining a circular region whose center lies at the point in a two-dimensional Fourier plane at which the spatial frequency is zero. The Fourier plane corresponds to a region containing an image to be reconstructed. The spin echo signals emanating from a region inside the circular region are observed by an ordinary Fourier method, said region having a length greater than a predetermined length as measured in the direction in which data obtained by the observation is read out. The spin echo signals emanating from the remaining region inside the circular region are observed while shortening the time for which a reading gradient magnetic field is applied whenever an excitation is effected and, at the same time, effecting an additional phase shift encoding.