Surface nanometrology plays very important role in micro and nanotechnology. In this field, scanning probe microscopes (SPMs)  are widely used. SPM techniques show great potential in metrology because three-dimensional  togographic features with  nanometer even atomic resolution can be achieved. During the last two decades, various theories and techniques have been developed to improve accuracy  and stability of SPMs to meet the increasing requirements in surface nanometrology. In this review article, we highlight some research results such as surface specifications and modeling, high resolution and high time-stability measurement, image interpretation and surface reconstruction, SPM errors and calibration. Some technical trends are also covered.