With the development of nanotechnology, nanomaterials with controllable structure, multifunctional surface and good biocompatibility have been widely used in various aspects of biomedicine. As an important blood biomarker, circulating tumor cells (CTC) are the "seeds" of tumor metastasis. With the flow of blood, tumor cells with strong vitality can pass through blood vessels and gather at the distal end to form tiny tumor thrombi. Therefore, the detection of CTC can be used for early diagnosis of cancer and assessment of metastasis. The application of new nanomaterials and nanomaterial characterization measurement technology has a great impact on the progress of CTC analysis technology. In recent years, the capture and detection of CTC based on nanomaterials and microfluidic technology has become a research hotspot in liquid biopsy, and this technology has been gradually extended to clinical applications. This article reviews the role of nanomaterials and nanotechnology in the capture and detection of CTC, and looks forward to the application prospects of bioanalysis in this field.