Aims The objective of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of the baseline pre-contrast images of dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion-weighted imaging (DSC-PWI) with conventional T2*gradient recalled echo (GRE) imaging for detection of hemorrhage in acute ischemic stroke patients. Material and methods T2*GRE and DSC-PWI from 393 magnetic resonance imaging scans from 221 patients enrolled in three prospective stroke studies were independently evaluated by two readers blinded to clinical and other imaging data. Agreement between T2*GRE and DSC-PWI for the presence of hemorrhage, and acute hemorrhagic transformation, was assessed using the kappa statistic. Inter-reader agreement was also assessed using the kappa statistic. Results Agreement between the baseline images of DSC-PWI and T2*GRE regarding the presence of hemorrhage was almost perfect (k_{reader 1} : 0.90, 95% confidence interval 0.86–0.95 and k_{reader 2} : 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.87–0.96). Agreement between the sequences was still higher for detection of acute hemorrhagic transformation (k_{reader 1} : 0.94, 95% confidence interval 0.91–0.98 and k_{reader 2} : 0.95, 95% confidence interval 0.92–0.98). Inter-reader agreement for detection of hemorrhage was also almost perfect for both T2*GRE (k: 0.95, 95% confidence interval 0.91–0.98) and DSC-PWI (k: 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.93–0.99). Acute hemorrhagic transformation detected on T2*GRE was missed on DSC-PWI by one or both readers in 5/393 (1.3%) scans. Conclusion The almost perfect statistical agreement between DSC-PWI and conventional T2*GRE suggests that DSC-PWI is sufficient for hemorrhage screening prior to thrombolysis in stroke patients. T2*GRE can therefore be omitted when DSC-PWI is included, thereby shortening the acute ischemic stroke magnetic resonance imaging protocol and expediting treatment. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02586415.