Most of the currently available clinical and research magnetic resonance imaging techniques have focused on the more superficial layers of articular cartilage. This has mainly been because the study of early and late alterations to the deeper layers of cartilage, including the deep radial zone and calcified cartilage, has not been possible due to the technical limitations of clinical scanners. In recent years, several types of two- and three-dimensional ultrashort echo time (UTE) sequences have been developed for high-resolution morphological imaging of articular cartilage. Various contrast mechanisms have been used to image the different layers of articular cartilage, especially calcified cartilage. Quantitative UTE imaging sequences have also been developed to measure T₁, T_1ρ and T₂^* in the different layers of articular cartilage. Both bound and bulk water components, including their T₂^*s and relative fractions, can also be assessed using UTE sequences based on multi-component analysis of UTE signal decay.