A novel indentation method is proposed to study the mechanical properties of porous and/or heterogeneous materials by the use of a cylindrical indenter with line loading on test specimens. The problems in line contact are examined. The indentation load P versus penetration depth h relation in line contact is expressed in terms of the radius R of cylindrical indenter and the contact length L. An application of a cylindrical indentation to a polycrystalline graphite leads to a successful determination of the Young's modulus and the yielding strength. It is concluded that the line contact rather than the conventional pyramidal point contact is more efficient for the experimental determination of mechanical properties of porous and/or heterogeneous materials.