We consider the short time strong solutions to the compressible magnetohydrodynamic equations with initial vacuum, in which the velocity field satisfies the Navier-slip condition. The Navier-slip condition differs in many aspects from no-slip conditions, and it has attracted considerable attention in nanoscale and microscale flows research. Inspired by Kato and Lax's idea, we use the Lax-Milgram theorem and contraction mapping argument to prove local existence. Moreover, under the Navier-slip condition, we establish a criterion for possible breakdown of such solutions at finite time in terms of the temporal integral of L 1 norm of the deformation tensor D.u/.