Objective To compare the effect of radionuclide bone imaging and MRI in locating responsible vertebrae after osteoporotic vertebral compressive fractures (OVCF).Methods A retrospective analysis was made on 25 patients with OVCF treated by percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP)from May 2015 to December 2015.There were 4 males and 21 females,at age range of 63-87 years [(73.3 ±6.16)years].The fractured vertebrae included 2 T4,3 T5,2 T6,2 T7,5 T8,3 T9,3 T10,7 T11,9 T12,11 L1,10 L2,2 L3,5 L4 and 1 L5.Cervical imaging examinations (X-ray,bone mineral density,MRI,radionuclide bone imaging) were performed on admission.Oswestry disability index (ODI) and visual analogue scale (VAS) were estimated before operation and 1 d after operation.Results of MRI and radionuclide bone imaging were compared.Results A total of 64 vertebrae were included in our study.Thirty-six vertebrae were recognized as fresh OVCFs by MRI,and 40 by radionuclide bone imaging.Kappa-test indicated the results of the examination methods were statistically significant (P ＜0.05).Specificity (96.6％) and accuracy (98.4％) of MRI were higher than radionuclide bone imaging bone scan (82.8％,92.2％).Conclusions Radionuclide bone imaging has a high consistency with MRI in locating responsible vertebrae after OVCF,but MRI is associated with higher specificity and accuracy.In exceptional cases,radionuclide bone imaging can partly replace MRI as a way to locate OVCF.