Uranium L₃ X-ray absorption edge was measured in various compounds containing uranium in U⁴⁺, U⁵⁺ and U⁶⁺ oxidation states. The measurements have been carried out at the Energy Dispersive EXAFS beamline (BL-08) at INDUS-2 synchrotron radiation source at RRCAT, Indore. Energy shifts of ∼ 2–3 eV were observed for U L₃ edge in the U-compounds compared to their value in elemental U. The different chemical shifts observed for the compounds having the same oxidation state of the cation but different anions or ligands show the effect of different chemical environments surrounding the cations in determining their X-ray absorption edges in the above compounds. The above chemical effect has been quantitatively described by determining the effective charges on U cation in the above compounds.