The present invention discloses a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for scanning a spine, comprising a body coil for emitting signals, a patient table within the body coil and a spine coil for receiving signals, wherein said spine coil is fixed within said body coil and disposed under said patient table. Said patient table is movable within said body coil by slide rails fitted at the two sides thereof, so as to reduce the length of said spine coil. The cross section of said patient table is in an arched shape, and the cross section of said spine coil is in an arched shape which matches that of said patient table. By using the apparatus of the present invention, since the spine coil is disposed underneath the board of the patient table, the design and production of the board of the patient table are simplified, the number of radio frequency choke coils and radio frequency element units is reduced and so are the costs; also, the space for the patient is increased, so the patient's comfort is improved; and furthermore, the repeated plugging and unplugging of the spine coil, as in the prior art, are avoided so as to reduce the probability of damaging the coil.