The United States National Bureau of Standards has recently issued its first Standard Reference Material (SRM) for trace organic analysis (an RM for anticonvulsant drugs in serum). During the coming year, three additional trace organic SRMs will be issued: generator columns for producing saturated aqueous solutions of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, a shale oil certified for several toxic organic compounds, and human serum certified for normal clinical analytes. The methods used for the accurate and precise trace organic analyses required for the certifications of these materials form the basis for this paper. The methods of greatest current utility include capillary column gas chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, and isotope dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.