A Ni/Cr multilayered thin-film standard reference material (SRM) for sputter depth profile calibration has been developed jointly by the National Bureau of Standards, the Jozef Stefan Institute, and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee E-42 on Surface Analysis. This perodically modulated structure can be effectively used to calibrate sputter erosion rates and depth of erosion scales in surface analysis as well as to monitor ion beam stability and to optimize sputtering conditions so as to achieve maximum interface resolution. Characterization results obtained on this first SRM for surface analysis to be issued by NBS indicate that the accuracy of its structure is known to better than 6% and that its sputter profiles are well defined and reproducible. Results of the calibration and compositional analysis of this SRM are presented regarding uniformity and periodicity of thin film layers, absolute film thickness, sputtered interface depth resolution, and relative Ni/Cr sputtering rates and yields. Measurement methods used to characterize this thin-film structure include EN(E) Auger sputter depth profiling, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and neutron activation analysis.