Disclosed is a method of detecting an attraction force between substrates, and a near-field exposure method and apparatus, wherein, in the attraction force detecting method, an elastically deformable first substrate is intimately contacted to a second substrate which is not elastically deformable as compared with the first substrate and, when the first and second substrates so contacted are separated from each other, an attraction force acting between the first and second substrates is detected. Specifically, the includes at least one of (i) a step for detecting an attraction force acting between the first and second substrates on the basis of a difference between (a) a physical quantity necessary for intimately contacting the first substrate to the second substrate and (b) a physical quantity necessary for separating the first substrate from the second substrate, and (ii) a step of detecting an attraction force acting between the first and second substrates on the basis of an amount of deformation of the first substrate relative to the second substrate.