Requirements for standards used in macro-and micro spectrofluorometry differ, depending on whether they are used for instrument calibration, standardization, or assessment of method accuracy. Specific examples are given of standards for quantum yield, number of quanta, and decay time, and for calibration of instrument parameters, including wavelength, spectral responsivity (determining correction factors for luminescence spectra), stability, and linearity. Differences in requirements for macro-and micro-standards are consid ered, and specific materials used for each are compared. Pure compounds and matrix-matched standards are listed for standardization and assessment of method accuracy, and existing Standard Reference Materials are discussed.The inherent sensitivity and selectivity of spectrofluorometry, coupled with the advances in electro-optical components and computers, has led to the wide use of spectrofluorometry during the last three decades in diverse areas of analysis, including analytical chemistry, cellular biology, geochemistry, and mail sorting systems The information obtained from these measurements has had a profound impact on all of these areas, for example, in assessing molecular interactions used for qualitative and quantitative analyses, chromatographic separations, cellular make-up and interactions, molecular volume, rotation and diffusion coefficients for large molecules, determination of porosities of geologic samples on a micro-and macro-scale, photochemical and kinetic processes, and energy transformation/conversion.In general, luminescence measurements are relative rather than absolute, since the instrument characteristics and sample properties that determine the fluorescence intensities are often not well defined.Absolute luminescence measurements are difficult to perform and require time and instrumentation not available in most laboratories.Thus, luminescence measurements rely heavily on standards to determine instrument responses and parameters, the chemical composition of samples, and the characteristics of chemical systems. To This chapter not subject to U.S.