Abstract The increase of global energy consumption and the growing demand of fossil fuels as predominant energy resources have greatly improved the advancement of new technologies in hydrocarbon recovery processes. New class of materials, such as nanoparticles has been widely studied in an effort to ensure simpler and more economical oil exploration and production processes, especially in challenging and harsh reservoirs environments. The unique physical and chemical properties of nanomaterials have lead to their application in almost all oil and gas aspects, such as exploration, reservoir characterization, drilling, cementing, production and stimulation, enhanced oil recovery (EOR), refining and processing. This review article presents comprehensive discussion on the most recent development of nanomaterials and their roles in new or enhanced applications in oil and gas industry. Here, the synthetic strategies and functionalization of some of the most common nanomaterials used in oil and gas industry, i.e. metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes and magnetic nanoparticles are summarized. Their applications in different types of oil and gas processes are also discussed. Finally, an outlook on the current challenges and some prospects for the future applications is also highlighted.