Objective To study the detection rate of cervical disc and spinal cord lesions in patients with cervical spondylosis by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods A total of 216 patients with cervical spondylosis in our hospital from March 2017 to March 2019 were selected, all of them underwent MRI and computed tomography (CT) examination. The detection rate of cervical spondylosis, imaging signs of cervical spondylosis, and cervical spondylosis of nerve root type and spinal cord type by MRI and CT were compared. Results The detection rates of cervical spondylosis patients with disc herniation and protrusion, disc degeneration, disc annulus fibrosus disease, cervical spinal cord ischemic injury, posterior longitudinal ligament disease, cervical intervertebral space stenosis, uncinate process hyperplasia, vertebral posterior margin osteophyte, facet hyperplasia, bony spinal stenosis, abnormal cervical curvature by MRI examination were higher than that by CT examination (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the detection rates of foramen stenosis and spinal canal stenosis between MRI and CT examination (P>0.05); the detection rates of intervertebral disc calcification, vertebral facet joint hyperosteogeny and intervertebral disc pneumatosis by MRI examination were lower than that by CT examination; the detections rates of intervertebral disc herniation, ligamentum flavum thickening, spinal degeneration, dural sac compression and nerve root compression by MRI examination were higher than that by CT examination (P<0.05); the detection rates of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy and cervical spondylotic myelopathy by MRI examination were 94.44% and 88.89%, which were higher than 75.00% and 25.25% of the detection rates by CT examination (P<0.05). Conclusion MRI examination of patients with cervical spondylosis can improve the detection rates of intervertebral disc and cervical spinal cord lesions, and has significant signs for a variety of cervical lesions, which is helpful for the differential diagnosis of cervical spondylosis classification, so as to provide scientific basis for the formulation of clinical treatment plan.