The uniformity of the areal density of uranium deposits used in neutron induced fission cross-section measurements has been measured using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry of 1-MeV He + ions as well as by scanning the natural α-particle decay of the uranium. The measurements used the 3-MV positive-ion accelerator at the National Institute of Standards and Technology along with a versatile scattering chamber with numerous ports, five-axis goniometer, target ladder, and solid state detector. The variation in areal density of a 265- μg/cm 3 UO 2 deposit with a diameter of 89 mm was measured using the 1-MeV He + beam. The results are in excellent agreement with those obtained from α-particle activity measurements. However, the Rutherford backscattering data provide better definition of the uniformity near the edge of the deposits. Our experience indicates that the backscatter technique is useful for measuring variations of 1% in areal densities but is less sensitive to the absolute areal density. The stoichiometry of the deposit was additionally measured with X-ray diffraction.