Nanosize devices have attracted tremendous interest over the last few years for a wide range of biomedical, biochemical sensing, and optoelectronic applications. So far, however, their potential has largely eluded the nuclear detection community. In this paper, the current status of the emerging nanomaterials for nuclear detection applications is reviewed. Recent preliminary data are presented, and the potential improvements in the detector cost, reliability, and performance the nanosize devices have to offer are discussed.