The invention relates to a method for measuring the magnetic permeability of a magnetic material by measuring the magnetic interaction of an electromagnetic field with this material by using a measuring device including a measuring cell connected through a microwave frequency cable (13) to a vector network analyser (12), said method comprising steps for gauging/calibrating said measuring device, for determining corrective coefficients to be applied to the measurements obtained by means of this device, for verifying the non-drift of this device, these steps being carried out with the help of a reference sample, wherein a reference sample is used, comprising at least one inclusion which enables creation, in a given volume, of a local artificial permeability, each inclusion being achieved by combining at least one inductive component possibly associated with a combination of at last one capacitive and/or resistive and/or active component, the frequency response of the electromagnetic properties of each volume being adjusted by the value and the assembly architecture of the components.The invention also relates to such a reference sample.