A two‐dimensional magnetohydrodynamic code is developed to study the dynamic performance of a magnetically induced compression (MIC) gas puff. It is shown that the plasma temperature in the gas puff plenum can rise up to 10–12 eV. The maximum calculated sheath velocity is in the 107cm/sec range. Calculations also show that the pressure in the gas puff plenum can rise by a factor of 570–1360, depending on the initial pressure. The mass flow rate and the injected gas density fall in the proper range for the operation of a Z pinch only when a relatively high initial pressure is used. The simulated ion‐induced and light‐induced voltages in the ion and light detectors provide means of comparing the numerical results with measurements. The calculated results are found to match reasonably well with the measured values.