This letter presents a new method of cross-range scaling in inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging. The effective rotational velocity (ERV), being the crucial factor for scaling, is generally unknown for noncooperative objects. By considering the degradation from target rotation, the proposed scheme estimates ERV based on image sharpness maximization. A range deviator induced by the center shift is also embedded in the estimation process. The cross-range scaling factor with an enhanced ISAR image can be obtained by an efficient Gauss-Newton method. The results acquired from both the simulations and real data experiments validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.