Purpose: To evaluate the ability of Diffusion-Weighted MRI in the detection and characterization of the musculoskeletal soft tissue tumors.Patients and methods: We evaluated 30 patients with 16 benign and 14 malignant tumors. MR examinations were performed with a 1.5-T system. Diffusion-weighted single-shot EPI images were obtained in all patients. Results: The mean ADC value of benign was significantly higher than that of malignant soft tissue tumors.