A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus and a method of controlling the same is disclosed. The MRI apparatus includes a magnetic field generator configured to apply a magnetic field to a head of a subject； a radio frequency (RF) coil configured to apply a pulse to the head to which the magnetic field is applied, and to receive a signal generated in the head； and a processor configured to apply a first inversion recovery pulse to the head by the RF coil, when a magnitude of longitudinal magnetization of one of white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) of the head is in a first range, suppress a recovery signal corresponding to the longitudinal magnetization of at least one of the WM and GM among recovery signals generated according to the first inversion recovery pulse； and generate a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) image for at least one slice based on a signal at a point where a magnitude of transverse magnetization generated in the other of the WM and GM of the head is in a second range.
