AFM(Atomic Force Microscopy) is a device to observe morphology in atomic scale. Applications of AFM for inorganic particle research, however, has not been visible because the roughness of particle sample exceeds the AFM scan limit. Static charging of the tip also makes it dirricult to scan the sample without moving around the particles. In this report, zinc oxide particles of solid and hollow morphology and alumina particles of smooth and rough surfaces were prepared by spray pyrolysis and characterized by AFM. It was found that the particles were not moving when the particles were dispersed in isobutyl alcohol (20mg/ml) and post-treated at 150℃ in an electrical oven for 1 hour. The AFM was operated under the non-contact mode and the tip spring constant was 20-100N/m. Under these conditions, it was possible to obtain 3-D images from all the particle samples and to differentiate solid and hollow particles from the phase images. The several hundred nanometer roughness of alumina particles shown in SEM images was not observed by AFM, but the roughness of several tens of nanometer level was evident in AFM image analysis. It was also confirmed that the force-distance curve behaved differently for the hollow and solid zinc oxide particles.