With the advent of technology, the role of nanomaterials in medicine has grown exponentially in the last few decades. The main advantage of such materials has been exploited in drug delivery applications, due to their effective targeting that in turn reduces systemic toxicity compared to the conventional routes of drug administration. Even though these materials offer broad flexibility based on targeting tissue, disease, and drug payload, the demand for more effective yet highly biocompatible nanomaterial-based drugs is increasing. While therapeutically improved and safe materials have been introduced in nanomedicine platforms, issues related to their degradation rate and bio-distribution still exist, thus making their successful translation to clinical application very challenging. Researchers are constantly improving upon novel nanomaterials that are safer and more effective not only as therapeutic agents but as diagnostic tools as well, making the research in the field of nanomedicine ever more fascinating. In this review, the stress has been made on the evolution of nanomaterials that are under different stages of clinical trials or have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.