This basic lecture explores the fundamentals of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neuroimaging meta-analysis. We start by laying out the basics of (f)MRI, look at the data we can acquire using this method and how we may analyze them, before we see how fMRI can be used to study the neurobiological basis of language. In the second part, we discuss why we should perform meta-analyses and introduce different methods for meta-analyzing neuroimaging data. Using a practical example, we will see how we can ask questions about language and brain meta-analytically.