TOF-SIMS has gained increasing acceptance as a surface analysis techniques in scientific research and industrial applications. The most important features of the technique are its ability to (parallel) detect and identify all secondary ion species (molecular and organic)over a virtually unlimited mass range with high sensitivity. These properties result in an extremely efficient utilization of information from the analytical area and high detection sensitivity for identifying organic molecular species as well as trace element contaminants. The use of micro-focused primary ion beams enables measurement of the lateral surface distribution of molecules and atomic ion mapping with ~100nm resolution. Ion bombardment of organic surfaces results in the emission of characteristic fragments of the molecule and often the complete ionized molecule, providing a "fingerprint" spectrum of the molecule. This fingerprint may serve as unambiguous identification of the molecular species and functional groups. Parallel detection and high sensitivity of TOF-SIMS are equally important in inorganic (surface) analysis. For example, trace silicon surface metal contamination levels in the 0.1-1ppm levels across the periodic table are readily achieved. TOF-SIMS surface metal detection limits in Si are typically 10-100 times lower than those achievable by standard TXRF (Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence). This paper is intended to illustrate some key analytical and problem solving capabilities of TOF-SIMS with a range of materials research applications. The emphasis will be on semiconductor-related applications such as surface metal contamination transfer in process equipment, organic/inorganic contamination and etch/rinse residues, and depth profiling. Applications from the disk drive, and polymer industry will also be included. The relative merits of TOF-SIMS and other surface analysis techniques (i.e., XPS, AES, TXRF, etc.) will be discussed.