It is necessary to transmit and review medical images effectively in PACS (Picture Archive & Communication System, PACS) , and multi -resolution encoding can improve image compression efficiency. The progressive property of 2D image wavelet transform is studied, and a multi - resolution medical image encoding method is described. This encoding method means that, the lower frequency subimage in wavelet domain should be encoded prior to those higher frequency subimage. Also, in the medical image process of transmission and reviewing, the same order will be followed. The experiment has improved that the proposed method can speedup the medical image transmission and reviewing in PACS effectively.