Objective To investigate the value of multimodal MRI for the assessment of federation international of gynecology and obstetrics (FIGO) staging and lymph node metastasis in cervical cancer. Methods A total of 80 cases of cervical cancer patients were selected and all underwent multimodal MRI examinations with conventional MRI sequence, diffusion weighted imaging scan, and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI scan. Taking the pathological examination results as the standard, the value of multimodal MRI for FIGO staging and lymph node metastasis was judged. Results Pathological examination results showed that there were 21, 35, 14 and 10 cases of FIGO stage Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and Ⅳ, respectively, with 110 lymph node metastases. Multimodal MRI showed that there were 20, 38, 12 and 10 cases of FIGO stage Ⅰ, Ⅱ,Ⅲ, and Ⅳ, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of multimodal MRI in the diagnosis of stage Ⅳ cervical cancer were 100.00%, which were higher than that of stage Ⅰ, Ⅱ, and Ⅲ cervical cancer (P<0.05). Multimodal MRI examination found 104 lymph nodes metastasis, and the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of evaluating lymph node metastasis were 94.55%, 91.53% and 92.98%. Conclusion Multimodal MRI has a high evaluation value for the FIGO staging and lymph node metastasis of cervical cancer, and it can be used as an important method for the evaluation of preoperative staging and lymph node metastasis of cervical cancer.