iron disilicides have been long recognized to be one of the most interesting metal silicides since the disilicides can appear in different crystal structures and exhibit metallic, semiconducting and magnetic properties. Nanostructures have gained increasing attention for their critical roles as the building blocks of advanced devices. In this paper, recent progresses in the research on nanoscale iron disilicides are reviewed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.