Abstract: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have long been considered as one of important causes of cancer metastasis. Precise monitoring of CTCs is crucial for early disease, monitoring the therapeutic outcomes and evaluating cancer prognosis. The most important technical challenges with regard to CTC detection arise from not only the low CTC concentration in bone marrow or blood but also the presence of other cellular contaminants. Therefore, CTC detection requires rapid, extremely sensitive and specific analytical methods. Recently, nanotechnology has emerged as a solution to detect CTCs. This study reviews the recent progress of detection and isolation of CTCs, especially the application of nanostructured materials and microfluidic systems in capture of CTCs.