AbstractThe X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES) of transition metal oxides is analyzed in terms of scattering resonances from neighboring atoms. Spectra from reference compounds of simple, known structure were used to facilitate identification of XANES peaks with scattering from specific coordination spheres. The resulting correlation between bond distance and energy of the absorption feature allows determination of bond distances in unknown materials. This is illustrated with the Cu K‐edges of YBa2Cu3O7 and Lau1.8Sr0.2CuO4. — The intensity of the L‐edge absorption resonances of the 5d elements is shown to be proportional to the number of 5d holes as determined by band structure calculations. In principle even the spin codiguration of the 5d orbitals can be determined. This is illustrated with data for a Re on A1203 catalyst.