High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used, for the first time, to measure fluorine concentration profiles with a high spatial resolution (5 mu m) along the full film depth of fluorinated polyurethane films. The MRI fluorine profiles were consistent with the results obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectrosccpy (XPS) in combination with microtoming. MRI is a nondestructive and potentially quantitative technique for probing the spatial distribution of small quantities of fluorine in coatings and multi-layered systems. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.