There is an explosion of interest in characterizing cell adhesion process and the mechanochemical players that is critical to a wide range of physiological and pathological consequences. Much, however, still remains uncertain and controversial about the quantitative measurement of cell adhesion strength (i.e., cell-substratum adhesion force, cell-cell adhesion force, etc.). The main reason for this deficit is a lack of well-established and comprehensive experimental methods that quantitatively measure cell adhesion strength at cellular and even molecular levels. This leads to the need for conducting a literature review on the methods for characterizing the adhesion force of anchorage-dependent cells. In this review article, we discern and critique available techniques for measuring cell adhesion strength that is required for an adherent cell (or cells) of interest to detach from the neighboring cell or the substratum. This review focuses on recent advances in the technique for measuring cell adhesion strength to weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of each technique, together with a brief description for the biological aspects of cell adhesion process. The summary of this article might help us both to develop a standard method for measuring cell adhesion strength and to broaden and deepen our understanding of cell adhesion process.