Strong adhesion between rubber and brass has been considered to arise mainly from the mechanical interaction, which is characterized by dendritic interlocking at the interface. In order to examine a possible contribution of the chemical interaction, chemical state analysis was carried out for model molecules of natural rubber (2-methyl-2-butene and isoprene) adsorbed on Cu2S, a key chemical species for adhesion, by means of photoelectron spectroscopy (PES). Absence of a C 1s PES component associated with C=C bonds and the appearance of adsorption-induced components in the S 2p region indicate that the molecules interact with the Cu2S surface via the C=C bond to form C–S covalent bonds. This proves that the chemical interaction certainly plays a role in rubber–brass adhesion along with the mechanical interaction.