Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was used for the description of experimental brain tumors in rat. To validate this approach, diffusion-weighted images (DWI) were compared with native T1- and T2-weighted images, and with T1-weighted images following contrast enhancement with the tumor-specific contrast agent manganese (III) tetraphenylporphine sulfonate (MnTPPS). Three tumor types were studied: F98 glioma, RN6 Schwannoma, and E376 neuroblastoma. On heavily diffusion-weighted images, all three tumor types as well as the peritumoral edema were clearly hypointense with respect to the intact brain tissue. T2-weighted images presented mainly peritumoral edema as hyperintense region. A clear demarcation of the tumor was possible only on T1-weighted images after contrast enhancement with MnTPPS. The difference in signal intensity between tumor and homotopic regions in the contralateral hemisphere was comparable in DWIs and in contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images. Spatial comparison of depicted lesion areas in all three imaging modalities indicated that hypointense region on DWI represents both tumor and edema but does not permit their spatial differentiation.