Aims Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is still a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, and accurate non-invasive diagnosis of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction (DD) remains difficult. The current study aimed at identifying the most informative cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) parameters for the assessment of LVDD. Methods and results We prospectively included 50 patients and classified them into three groups: with DD (DD+, n = 15), without (DDÀ, n = 26), and uncertain (DD±, n = 9). Diagnosis of DD was based on echocardiographic E/E′, invasive LV end-diastolic pressure, and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide. CMR was performed at 1.5 T to assess LV and left atrial (LA) morphology, LV diastolic strain rate (SR) by tissue tracking and tagging, myocardial peak velocities by tissue phase mapping, and transmitral inflow profile using phase contrast techniques. Statistics were performed only on definitive DD+ and DDÀ (total number 41). DD+ showed enlarged LA with LA end-diastolic volume/height performing best to identify DD+ with a cutoff value of ≥0.52 mL/cm (sensitivity = 0.71, specificity = 0.84, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.75). DD+ showed significantly reduced radial (inferolateral E peak: DDÀ: À14.