This study extends the application of existing magnetic resonance imaging methods to measure the settling of solid particles from aqueous suspensions. The acquisition of one-dimensional multiecho projections allowed the direct measurement of initial magnetizations (M-0), from which solid volume fractions along the sedimentation column were inferred. For polystyrene beads, it was found that monoexponential curves accurately fitted the transverse relaxation decays. In contrast, for the other four solids investigated (activated carbon, talc. calcium carbonate, and glass beads), the single exponential model did not suffice and additional terms in the fitting function significantly improved the calculation of solid concentrations. Additional information about particle sizes was obtained by comparing volume fractions with the spin-spin relaxation times of the hydrogen protons as a function of the vertical height through the sedimenting suspensions of activated carbon and polystyrene beads. (C) 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE, J, 55: 1420-1433, 2009