Scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) such as the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM) were used for surface modification tools at the nanometer scale. Material surfaces, i. e., titanium, hydrogen-terminated silicon and trimethylsilyl organosilane monolayer on silicon, were locally oxidized with the best lateral spatial resolution of 20nm. The principle behind this proximal probe oxidation method is scanning probe anodization, that is, the SPM tip-sample junction connected through a water column acting as a minute electrochemical cell. An SPM-nanolithogrphy process was demonstrated using the organosilane monolayer as a resist. Area-selective chemical modifications, i. e., etching, electroless plating with gold, monolayer deposition and immobilization of latex nanoparticles; were achieved in nano-scale resolution. The area-selectivity was based on the differences in chemical properties between the SPM-modified and unmodified regions.