The various approaches have been utilized in the treatment of a variety of diseases by applying drug delivery system such as polymeric nanoparticles, self-emulsifying delivery systems, liposomes, microemulsions and micellar solutions. Recently, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) and lipid-drug conjugates (LDCs) have been exploited as a carrier of lipophilic and hydrophilic/amphiphilic substances for invasive and non-invasive routes of delivery. SLNs are colloidal drug carrier system and are like nanoemulsion, however, the lipid content in SLNs is solid in nature. These novel type of lipid nanoparticles with solid matrix offers to develop new prototype therapeutics in drug delivery, which could be used for controlled release, drug targeting, gene therapy, physical and chemical stability and site-specific drug delivery and thereby attracted the research groups worldwide. This manuscript overviews the recent patents, advantages, formulation techniques, stability aspects and applications of SLNs.