A surface spin-flop transition has recently been observed in a multilayer F
e/Cr film (superlattice) that may be effectively described by a classical a
ntiferromagnetic chain with a single-ion anisotropy. In this paper we explo
re such a transition in a classical spin chain with exchange anisotropy. Ou
r theoretical results may suggest the occurrence of a similar phenomenon in
quantum spin chains doped with nonmagnetic ions.