AbstractThis work, using the solution given by Dhaliwal and Singh, presents analytical expressions of the incremental stress and displacement fields for the axisymmetrical indentation of initially stressed, incompressible neo‐Hookean solids. A simple relation for the contact stiffness, contact area, elastic constants, and finite stretch can be obtained for the indentation by any rigid axisymmetric indenter, which can be described as a smooth function. The contact stiffness increases with the initial finite stretching; the finite stretching makes materials harder to deform. The results provide a basis for evaluating the effects of residual stresses on the nanoindentation of materials from the viewpoint of finite deformation. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2513–2521, 2004