A prototype continuous wave MRI system operating at 7T has been used successfully to study a variety of heterogeneous materials exhibiting T2 relaxation values ranging from 10 ls to 50 ms. Two-dimensional images of a poly(methly methacrylate) (PMMA) resolution phantom (T2 ¼38 ls) exhibited a spatial resolution of approximately 1mm at a magneticfield gradient strength of 200 mT/m. The technique was used to study the hydration, drying, and subsequent water penetration properties of cement samples made from ordinary Portland cement, and revealed inhomogeneities arising from the cure conditions. Sandstone samples from an oil reservoir in the North Sea were also studied; structure within these materials, arising from the sedimentary bed layering in the reservoir, was found to have an effect on their water transport properties. A section from a confectionery bar (T 2 approximately 50–60 ms) was also imaged, and its internal structure could be clearly discerned. ; PUBLISHED ; This work was funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant No. GR/R02269/01). The authors thank Dr. H. Seton, Department of Biomedical Physics, for help with the measurements on the 4.7 T system, and Dr. S. Ogilvie, Department of Geology, University of Aberdeen, for supplying the sandstone samples.