In an improved INEPT pulse sequence, an excitation pulse, a refocus pulse and an excitation pulse are sequentially applied for .sup.1 H spins. A refocus pulse and an excitation pulse are sequentially applied for .sup.13 C spins that are spin--spin coupled with the .sup.1 H spins. A magnetic resonance signal is acquired from .sup.1 H spins or .sup.13 C spins. The second refocus pulse for .sup.1 H is applied as a slice selective pulse at a time different from the time the first refocus pulse for .sup.13 C is applied. This allows localization to be achieved without adversely affecting the flip angle of the first refocus pulse for .sup.13 C.