A set of eight geochemical standard reference samples of stream sediments was prepared. The original purpose was to use these samples as primary standards for the data quality monitoring of a nation‐wide regional geochemical survey program in China. But their use has been soon extended to other fields. Forty‐one laboratories in China have joined in a collaborative venture to analyse these samples, using a variety of analytical procedures. Recommended values for over 50 trace and minor elements were derived by a method of repetitive elimination of outliers and calculation of central “tendency” from several central