A test method for characterizing the mechanical properties of an elastic, elastoplastic or viscoelastic body with surface adhesion, comprising - penetrating a pyramid/cone indenter with an arbitrary inclined-face-angle of β into said body and determining the in-situ contact area A under indentation load P, where P means the indentation load under the penetration depth h of the indenter pressed onto the body with surface adhesion, and A means the in-situ contact area of indentation under the applied load of P, - determining, on the basis of the experimentally derived P-A relationship and the following formulae, the mechanical properties including the surface adhesion energy γ of the elastic, elastoplastic or viscoelastic body, wherein - the P-A relationship of the elastic body with elastic modulus E' and surface energy γ is given by the following formula for the pyramid/cone indenter with the inclined face angle of β : [Equation 2] P = E ′ 2 tan β A − 4 γE ′ π 1 / 2 A 3 / 4 - the P-A relationship of the elastoplastic body with Meyer hardness H M and elastoplastic adhesion toughness λ EP is given by the following formula for pyramid/cone indentation: [Equation 3] P = H M A − λ EP A 3 / 4 where the elastoplastic adhesion toughness λ EP is defined with the elastoplastic surface energy γ EP and the elastic modulus E', as follows: [Equation 4] λ EP = 4 γ EP E ′ π 1 / 2 - the P-A relationship of the viscoelastic body with relaxation modulus E ' relax (t) and surface energy γ for pyramid/cone indentation under the stepwise penetration to the fixed contact area of A 0 is represented by the following Formula: [Equation 5] P t = tan β 2 A 0 E ′ relax t − 4 γ π 1 / 2 A 0 3 / 4 E ′ relax t - penetrating a pyramid/cone indenter with an arbitrary inclined-face-angle of β into said body and determining the in-situ contact area A under indentation load P, where P means the indentation load under the penetration depth h of the indenter pressed onto the body with surface adhesion, and A means the in-situ contact area of indentation under the applied load of P, - determining, on the basis of the experimentally derived P-A relationship and the following formulae, the mechanical properties including the surface adhesion energy γ of the elastic, elastoplastic or viscoelastic body, wherein - the P-A relationship of the elastic body with elastic modulus E' and surface energy γ is given by the following formula for the pyramid/cone indenter with the inclined face angle of β : [Equation 2] P = E ′ 2 tan β A − 4 γE ′ π 1 / 2 A 3 / 4 - the P-A relationship of the elastoplastic body with Meyer hardness H M and elastoplastic adhesion toughness λ EP is given by the following formula for pyramid/cone indentation: [Equation 3] P = H M A − λ EP A 3 / 4 where the elastoplastic adhesion toughness λ EP is defined with the elastoplastic surface energy γ EP and the elastic modulus E', as follows: [Equation 4] λ EP = 4 γ EP E ′ π 1 / 2 - the P-A relationship of the viscoelastic body with relaxation modulus E ' relax (t) and surface energy γ for pyramid/cone indentation under the stepwise penetration to the fixed contact area of A 0 is represented by the following Formula: [Equation 5] P t = tan β 2 A 0 E ′ relax t − 4 γ π 1 / 2 A 0 3 / 4 E ′ relax t <EOS>