Foreign key constraints are responsible for data referential integrity in your database. Simply put, referential integrity means that when a record in a table refers to a corresponding record in another table, that corresponding record must exist. So, a foreign key constraint specifies that the values in a column (or a group of columns) must match the values appearing in some row of another table.
A reference sets a foreign key constraint on the referencing table.
See also:
Diagram Objects: Creating a Reference | Reference Editor