Sustainably developed and managed small hydropower has enormous potential to contribute to sustainability energy goals. To achieve this, the International Hydropower Association (IHA) has developed Sustainability Guidelines, and an associated Compliance Protocol that provides a clear framework for good practice. Also, quality standards for small hydropower have been developed for countries like India, Sweden, Brazil, USA, Canada etc taking into consideration there local environments. Since prospects for Small Hydro Power (SHP) in Nigeria have led to increase in number of SHP local consultants and SHP equipment manufacturers, the need to defining quality standards for hydro power development in Nigeria is inevitable.  Therefore the Small hydropower quality standards has been suggested in this paper to define the quality requirements of SHP projects in the areas of planning, design, supply and installation works in Nigeria. This is to ensure competitive bidding of SHP projects that will guarantee quality finish and performance. For a speedy and successful development of small hydropower, use of standards and guidelines in planning, designing and execution is necessary. A general awareness of the codes, standards and guidelines, especially for small hydropower projects is also emphasized.  For quality assurance of the small hydropower stations, establishment of a special hydropower research institute in Nigeria has been suggested to initiate performance testing of any hydropower project.