The adhesion energy of kerogen in continental and marine shale was innovatively discovered using the colloid probe technique with atomic-force microscopy (AFM). AFM results indicated that the adhesion force of kerogen was higher than the inorganic material in both the continental and marine shale samples. The chemical elements in the two kinds of samples were measured by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical compositions of kerogen involved C=C bonding, C=O bonding, pyridine nitrogen, and pyrrole nitrogen, whereas the primary constituent involving inorganic matter was Si-O bonding. These results were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The high percentages of C=C and C=O bonding in kerogen are attributed to the large dipole on the kerogen surface which allowed kerogen to contain liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.