A compound with respect to whose frequency the chemical shifts of other compounds can be compared. The standard can be either internal or external to the sample. Because of the need for possible corrections due to differential magnetic susceptibility between an external standard and the sample being measured, the use of an internal standard is generally preferred.

Standard compound used as a standard reference spectral line for defining chemical shifts for a given nucleus. As recommended by the ASTM, for 1H it is tetramethylsilane (TMS) and for 31P it is phosphoric acid, although for practical biological applications water and PCr have been used as secondary references for hydrogen and phosphorus spectroscopy, respectively. The reference compound can be in a capsule outside of the subject (external) or can be in the subject (internal); internal references are generally preferable where possible, as external references may be subject to different conditions.