With the rapid development and wide applications of nano-science and nano-technology, there is an urgent need for nanoscale quantitative mechanical property measurementsasic physical concepts and principles for both quantitative elastic and viscoelastic property measurements are discussed in details. The two theoretical mechanical models for quantification process are recapitulated, which are the cantilever vibration model and the contact mechanics model between the tip and the sample. Next, the fixed frequency excitation mode for qualitative imaging and the resonance tracking mode for quantitative imaging of AFAM are explained. Then, the development of AFAM method is reviewed, including the development of basic quantitative measurement theory, the study on the accuracy and sensitivity of AFAM, the development of new measurement modes, and the new hardware and software upgrades, etc. The advances in the applications of AFAM method to nanomechanical measurement and characterization are given afterwards. The wide applications of AFAM mainly involve the nanomechanical characterization of fiber reinforced composites and their interfaces, the microstructure characterization of smart materials due to mechanical heterogeneity at the microscale, the nanomechanical measurements of bio-materials as well as their interfaces, and the characterization of nanomaterials and thin film systems (e.g., nanocrystalline materials, nanowires, subsurface imaging, etc.). The summary and prospect are finally given to show the problems and future work of AFAM. This review provides a general description of the state of the art, and aims to make researchers achieve a better understanding on the implementation of their own AFAM measurements and extend the applications of AFAM to the nanoscale mechanical characterization of various natural and artificial materials. and characterization. Combining acoustics and atomic force microscopy together, the atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM) provides a promising technique for quantitative, high resolution and non-destructive mechanical property characterization of materials on a nanoscale. This paper focuses on the research progress in the AFAM measurement method and its wide applications in various fields. First, the b