Functional monitoring of the fate in implanted templates which restore the function of lost tissues is still a challenge. Whereas histology can give excellent insight in material and tissue remodeling, longitudinal studies are hampered by the invasive character. Non-invasive imaging techniques which allow longitudinal studies in the same individual and provide functional information might be beneficial. Here, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was applied as a non-invasive tool to monitor the progress of vasculogenesis and inosculation in in vitro pre-vascularized collagen/fibrin templates implanted in mice during four weeks. MRI results were compared with histological findings to evaluate whether the two technologies were complementary and to evaluate the added value of MRI. When in vitro pre-vascularized templates were implanted in mice histological analysis showed the presence of mouse blood cells in the engineered vessels two weeks after implantation. The MR images showed that template perfusion, a measure of vascularity became significant at three weeks. For tissue engineering purposes contrast enhanced MRI appears to be an attractive tool to evaluate the vascular outcome longitudinally without the need to sacrifice animals and the functional information can be superimposed on the static histological information.