Abstract: Although an indentation does not induce apparent cracking in ductile materials, the degradation of the elastic stiffness of ductile metals does occur in micro-/macro-indentation tests. After comparing the degradation predicted based on extended damaged-plasticity models with that measured by experimental testing, it is found that the softening due to the distortion of the existing voids is not enough to cause a notable degradation of elasticity. It is suggested that an independent damage-nucleation mechanism due to the shear deformation may be in operation. Although attractive in practical applications for its nondestructive nature, the damage-based indentation technique for estimating the fracture properties of ductile materials needs further investigations.