Abstract 】 Objective To study the role of diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) in recognizing the growth pattern of tumors in the brain parenchyma and in microsurgery. Methods 41 patients with tumors in the brain parenchyma were randomly divided into 23 cases in the control group and 18 cases in the study group. Routine MRI and DTI examinations were performed before and after surgery. All patients were operated under microscopic operation. Surgical approaches were selected based on different images in the two groups. The surgical results, changes in DTI images, and neurological changes before and after surgery were compared between the two groups. Results: 21 cases of glioblastoma and 1 case of ventriculoblastoma were located in the central region and its vicinity, temporo-occipital region and deep temporal lobe, and the preoperative DTI showed that the tumors only displaced the conduction bundles. Eight cases of astrocytic or oligodendrogliomas were located in the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital regions, and the preoperative DTI showed that the conduction tracts did not appear to be dislocated or deformed, and the conduction tracts passing through the tumor sites were interrupted, which indicated that the tumors had infringed upon and destroyed them. Postoperative DTI showed that the conduction bundles were damaged in 5 patients in the control group and in 2 patients in the study group. All patients with conduction tract damage had corresponding neurological deficits. Conclusion DTI can clearly and reliably show the relationship between the tumor and the white matter conduction tracts, which is helpful for determining the surgical plan, protecting the functional conduction tracts during the operation and improving the tumor resection rate.