Abstract This review illustrates the need to use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for the quantitative analysis of small molecules in their crude forms and in mixtures. We provide the basic concepts of quantitative NMR (qNMR), a brief description of important acquisition and processing parameters responsible for obtaining high-quality, reproducible NMR spectra in order to maximize accuracy, and the latest referencing techniques used for quantitative analysis. We also describe methods that are used for quantitative analysis including calibration-curve and standard-addition methods. Further, we briefly address validation of qNMR spectroscopy and its major applications in various scientific disciplines.