Surface characterization encompasses concepts such as chemical composition, coverage, charge transfer in bonding, electron-state densities, and electron energy levels in surface bonds. Information bearing on these concepts can be obtained by direct or indirect inference from Auger electron spectrometry. Five features of Auger electron spectrometry are defined and used to outline this review. The five features are: (i) characteristic energy, (ii) intensity, (iii) peak shift, (iv) linewidth, and (v) line shape. In nearly all applications of Auger electron spectrometry these features and their combinations are monitored for the characterization of surfaces.