Eye diseases often lead to impaired vision and seriously affect the daily life of patients.
Local administration of ophthalmic drugs is one of the most important approaches for the treatment of
ophthalmic diseases. However, due to the special biochemical environment of the ocular tissue and the
existence of many barriers, the bioavailability of conventional ophthalmic preparations in the eye is
very low. Nanomaterials can be utilized as carriers of drugs, which can improve the absorption, distribution,
metabolism and bioavailability of drugs in eyes. Nanomaterials have also the advantages of
small size, simple preparation, good degradability, strong targeting, and little stimulation to biological
tissues, providing an innovative and practical method for the drug delivery of ophthalmic diseases. In
addition, nanomaterials can be used as an auxiliary means for early diagnosis of ophthalmic diseases
by improving the specificity and accuracy of detection methods. Nanomaterials help clinicians and
researchers delve deeper into the physiology and pathology of the eye at the nanoscale. We summarize
the application of nanomaterials in the diagnosis and treatment of ophthalmic diseases in this review.