Purpose Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a precursor of invasive ductal breast carcinoma (IDC). This study aimed to use pharamcokinetic dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE‐MRI) and intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion‐weighted imaging (IVIM‐DWI) for the early diagnosis of DCIS. Methods Forty‐seven patients, including 25 with DCIS (age: 28–70 yr, mean age: 48.7 yr) and 22 with benign disease (age: 25–67 yr, mean age: 43.1 yr) confirmed by pathology, underwent pharamcokinetic DCE‐MRI and IVIM‐DWI in this study. The quantitative parameters Ktrans, Kep, Ve, Vp, and D, f, D* were obtained by processing of DCE‐MRI and IVIM‐DWI images with Omni‐Kinetics and MITK‐Diffusion softwares, respectively. Parameters were analyzed statistically using GraphPad Prism and MedCalc softwares. Results All low‐grade DCIS lesions demonstrated mass enhancement with clear boundaries, while most middle‐grade and high‐grade DCIS lesions showed non‐mass‐like enhancement (NMLE). DCIS lesions were significantly different from benign lesions in terms of Ktrans, Kep, and D (t = 5.959, P < 0.0001; t = 5.679, P < 0.0001; and t = 5.629, P < 0.0001, respectively). The AUC of Ktrans, Kep, D and the combined indicator of Ktrans, Kep, and D were 0.936, 0.902, 0.860, and 0.976, respectively. There was a significant difference in diagnostic efficacy only between D and the combined indicator (Z = 2.408, P = 0.016). Conclusion DCE‐MRI and IVIM‐DWI could make for the early diagnosis of DCIS, and reduce the misdiagnosis of DCIS and over‐treatment of benign lesions.