This paper studies the peristaltic flow of nanofluids through a two-dimensional channel. The analysis is conducted based on the long wavelength and low Reynolds number approximations. The walls of the channel surface propagate sinusoidally along the channel. The Buongiornio formulation for nanofluids is employed. Approximate analytical solutions for nanoparticle fraction field, temperature field, axial velocity, volume flow rate, pressure gradient and stream function are obtained. The impact of the pertinent physical parameters i.e. thermal Grashof number, basic-density Grashof number, Brownian motion parameter and thermophoresis parameter on nanoparticle fraction profile, temperature profile, velocity profile and trapping phenomenon are computed numerically. The results of this study demonstrate good correlation with the Newtonian results of Shapiro et al. (1969) [4], which is a special case (Gr(T) = 0, Gr(F) = 0) of the generalized model developed in this article. Applications of the study include peristaltic micropumps and novel drug delivery systems in pharmacological engineering. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.