A calibration method for the five essential parameters is proposed. Using the calibration results, the three dimensional (3D) reconstruction can be performed directly. The five essential parameters include the distance between the camera and the projector, the distance between the reference plane and the camera, the fundamental frequency of the fringe pattern, the scale factor from the image coordinates to the world coordinate system in X axis direction and that in Y axis direction. The proposed calibration method is implemented and tested in our 3D reconstruction system. The mean calibration error is found to be 0.0215 mm over a volume of 400 mm (H)×300 mm (V)×500 mm (D). The proposed calibration method is accurate and useful for the 3D reconstruction system.