Fluorine-18 labeled 1-[2-fluoro-1-(hydroxymethyl)ethoxy]-mehyl-2-nitroimidazole ([18F]FENI), a novel, potential radiotracer for imaging hypoxic tissue by PET, was synthesized. The [18F]FENI was prepared by nucleophilic 18F-fluorination of the precursor, 1-[2-(toluene-4-sulfoxy)-1-(acetoxymethyl)ethoxy]methyl-2-nitroimidazole, followed by deprotection and HPLC purification. Radiochemically pure [18F]FENI was obtained in overall yields of 3-11% (EOB) with specific activity of > 26 GBq/μmol (EOS) within 90 min.