A review on the mechanical characterization of materials at small- scale is presented. The concentration is on the different micro- and nano-scale testing techniques, classify, summarize, and compare all of these techniques that are currently available. The variety of materials investigated by the scientific and industrial communities and the mechanical quantities identified by such methodologies. Finally, the perspectives of studies on fatigue of the small scale metal materials are offered. Keywords: Fatigue crack ; small-scale; nano-scale; MEMS; cyclic load; thin film
