High-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 3.0 T has rapidly gained acceptance in the MR community for both research and clinical applications in the last few years. The broad acceptance was supported by the advent of compact actively shielded magnets, multiple receiver coil arrays and parallel imaging capabilities as well as by research data showing improved imaging at 3.0 T in many applications. While superiority of 3.0 T MRI over 1.5 T was primarily shown in neuroradiology, ongoing research demonstrates that numerous advantages of 3.0 T over 1.5 T are also evident in body MRI. The most straightforward advantage of high-field MRI at 3.0 T is the increased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that scales linearly with the field-strength (Bo). Increased SNR can be invested into decreased acquisition time, increased spatial resolution or a combination of both. Since the introduction of 3.0 T MR systems to clinical human imaging, several difficulties have been described beyond a simple SNR gain including increased energy deposition (SAR), increased magnetic susceptibility effects, increased radiofrequency (RF) field inhomogeneity and more pronounced magnetic shielding effects. In the mean time, many investigators have proposed strategies to optimize imaging protocols and to decrease SAR levels and to reduce artefacts including optimized coil and hardware design, combination with parallel imaging and modulation of refocusing flip angles.