The aim of this work is to investigate the relationship between contrast and energy resolution of a quasi-monochromatic X-ray system based on Bragg diffraction on a mosaic crystal. Three different energies have been considered: 18, 22 and 26 keV. A commercial phantom containing large and small area details and a digital detector have been used. Results show that for large area details and for a certain value of energy, the energy spread of the incident X-ray beams produces a small reduction of the contrast, while for small area details the high reduction of the contrast is principally due to the spatial resolution properties of the system. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.