In the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as glioma, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), drugs are expected to reach specific areas of the brain to achieve the desired effect. Although a growing number of therapeutic targets have been identified in preclinical studies, the ones that can ultimately be used in the clinic are limited. Therefore, the research process and clinical application of drugs for treating CNS diseases are still large challenges. Physiological barriers such as the blood‒brain barrier (BBB) act as selective permeable membranes, allowing only certain molecules to enter the brain; this barrier is the major obstacle restricting the arrival of most drugs to brain lesions. Recently, nanoparticles, including lipid-based, cell-derived biomimetic, polymeric and inorganic nanoparticles, have gained increasing attention because of their ability to cross physiological barriers, and could play an important role as delivery carriers and immunomodulators. Additionally, clinical applications of nanoparticles in CNS diseases are underway. This review focuses on the progress of current research on the use of nanoparticles for the treatment of CNS diseases to provide additional insight into the treatment of CNS diseases.