Abstract: The indentation experiment plays a very important role in mechanical performance testing. In recent years,various forms of indentation testing have been increasingly used to determine the material properties of specimens. The review surveys the application and significance of the techniques since developing indentation testing method,particularly the nano-indentation method. Although a lot of work study was researched,such as studying on the relation between one hardness value and the other one,the effect of the material microcosmic structure to hardness value,the application of hardness to test thin film mechanical properties,and so on,the technique was mainly used to deduce the elastic,plastic,fracture,creep,and adhesive properties of a great variety of materials,ranging from metals,ceramics,polymers,to biomaterials. Meanwhile,the study current status and the problem were discussed in instrumented indentation experiments. The technique has been extended to the testing of coating systems in order to calculate the individual properties of the thin coatings and the substrates.