Purpose Recently, natural d‐glucose was suggested as a potential biodegradable contrast agent. The feasibility of using d‐glucose for dynamic perfusion imaging was explored to detect malignant brain tumors based on blood brain barrier breakdown. Methods Mice were inoculated orthotopically with human U87‐EGFRvIII glioma cells. Time‐resolved glucose signal changes were detected using chemical exchange saturation transfer (glucoCEST) MRI. Dynamic glucose enhanced (DGE) MRI was used to measure tissue response to an intravenous bolus of d‐glucose. Results DGE images of mouse brains bearing human glioma showed two times higher and persistent changes in tumor compared with contralateral brain. Area‐under‐curve (AUC) analysis of DGE delineated blood vessels and tumor and had contrast comparable to the AUC determined using dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI with GdDTPA, both showing a significantly higher AUC in tumor than in brain (P < 0.005). Both CEST and relaxation effects contribute to the signal change. Conclusion DGE MRI is a feasible technique for studying brain tumor enhancement reflecting differences in tumor blood volume and permeability with respect to normal brain. We expect DGE will provide a low‐risk and less expensive alternative to DCE MRI for imaging cancer in vulnerable populations, such as children and patients with renal impairment. Magn Reson Med 74:1556–1563, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.