Advances in nanotechnology and nanomedicine offer great opportunities for the development of nanoscaled theranostic platforms. Among various multifunctional nanocarriers, magnetic mesoporous silica nanocomposites (M-MSNs) attract prominent research interest for their outstanding properties and potential biomedical applications. This Research News article highlights recent progress in the design of core-shell-type M-MSNs for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. First, an overview of synthetic strategies for three representative core-shell-type M-MSNs with different morphologies and structures is presented. Then, the diagnostic functions of M-MSNs is illustrated for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications. Next, magnetic targeted delivery and stimuli-responsive release of drugs, and effective package of DNA/siRNA inside mesopores using M-MSNs as therapeutic agent carriers are discussed. The article concludes with some import ant challenges that need to be overcome for further practical applications of M-MSNs in nanomedicine.