Background: Left ventricular (LV) torsion refers to the counter-clockwise twisting of the ventricle with respect to its base during systole and untwisting occurring during diastole. It has been known as a preload-independent parameter and may contribute to early diastolic filling. Recently, a novel 2-D echocardiographic technique was proposed to quantifying torsion using spatial rotation of the papillary muscle (PM). In this study, we validated this technique using tagged MRI. Methods: Tagged MRI was performed in 13 healthy volunteers (10 men and 3 women; age 32짹12 years) at rest and the twisting of LV(Tm) was calculated by harmonic phase imaging technique. Also, Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography were performed before and immediate after saline loading (normal saline: 500cc) and analyzed at separate times. As an echocardiographic index of ventricular twisting, we measured the rotation angle of the anterolateral PM(Te) at their insertion at parasternal short axis view. Results: Tm was 10짹8째(range 3~26째). Te (9짹6째; range 1~25째) was strongly correlated with Tm (r=0.68, p<0.05) and E wave (r=0.75, p<0.05) and acceleration time of E-wave (r=-0.65, p<0.05). But no significant change of Te before and after saline loading was observed (9짹6째 vs 9짹7째, p=0.54). Correlation coefficients of Intra and Inter-observer variation of Te were 0.94 and 0.88 (p<0.05). Conclusions: The magnitude of ventricular torsion, measured by a novel 2-D echocardiographic technique, was strongly correlated with acceleration of the mitral E-wave in preload-independent manner and also the torsion measured by MRI. It could be used as an another parameter of assessing LV diastolic function.