OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the diagnostic value of a contrast-enhanced 3D T1-weighted-modified volumetric isotropic turbo spin-echo acquisition sequence (T1-mVISTA) in comparison with a conventional 3D T1-weighted magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo (T1-MP-RAGE) sequence for the detection of meningeal enhancement in patients with meningitis. METHODS: Thirty patients (infectious meningitis, n = 12; neoplastic meningitis, n = 18) and 45 matched controls were enrolled in this retrospective case-control study. Sets of randomly selected T1-mVISTA and T1-MP-RAGE images (both with 0.8-mm isotropic resolution) were read separately 4 weeks apart. Image quality, leptomeningeal and dural enhancement, grading of visual contrast enhancement, and diagnostic confidence were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test. RESULTS: Image quality was rated to be good to excellent in 75 out of 75 cases (100%) for T1-mVISTA and 74 out of 75 cases (98.7%) for T1-MP-RAGE. T1-mVISTA detected significantly more patients with leptomeningeal enhancement (p = 0.006) compared with T1-MP-RAGE (86.7 vs. 50.0%, p < 0.001), each with specificity of 100%. Similarly, sensitivity of T1-mVISTA for the detection of dural and/or leptomeningeal enhancement was also significantly higher compared with that of T1-MP-RAGE (96.7 vs. 80.0%, p = 0.025) without significant differences regarding specificity (97.8 vs. 95.6%, p = 0.317). No significant differences were found for dural enhancement alone. Diagnostic confidence in T1-mVISTA was significantly higher (p = 0.01). Visual contrast enhancement was tendentially higher in T1-mVISTA. CONCLUSIONS: T1-mVISTA may be an adequate and probably better alternative to T1-MP-RAGE for detection of leptomeningeal diseases. KEY POINTS: • Black-blood T1-mVISTA showed a significant higher sensitivity for the detection of leptomeningeal enhancement compared with MP-RAGE without losses regarding specificity. • Diagnostic confidence was assessed significantly higher in T1-mVISTA. • T1-mVISTA should be considered a supplement or an alternative to T1-MP-RAGE in patients with suspected leptomeningeal diseases.