Nanomaterials have been widely used in medicine and pharmaceuticals because of their specific mechanical, optical and electrical behaviours. Nanomaterials are applied for the detection of biological molecules, imaging of diseased tissues and innovative therapeutics. The application of utilizing nano-based particles (1-100 nm) offers miniaturization biosensors, enabling smaller samples to be used for different biochemical analysis and point-of-care diagnostics. Nanopharmaceutics are optimized in drug delivery systems with increased bioavailiablity of the drug to the target site. Recently the nanoparticle based diagnostic agents have been introduced for the treatment of cancer, allergy, diabetes, etc. In the present review article, we summarize about the latest developments evidenced in the nanomaterials with less toxicity and more efficiency which find its suitability in the field of diagnosis, imaging systems, disease therapy, drug delivery and tissue engineering. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.