<p>Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) are some of the most recalcitrant and ubiquitous contaminants in soil, posing significant risks to soil health, ecosystems and human wellbeing. Traditional remediation can be costly, energy intensive, and tedious, thus causing additional environmental impact.&#xa0;Although alternative application in phytoremediation is more sustainable, their potential is often limited by low hydrocarbon bioavailability, phytotoxicity and high-molecular-weight petroleum fractions. To address these limitations, nano-phytoremediation is a new approach that integrates phytoremediation, microbial biodegradation, and nanotechnology to improve TPH-contaminated soils. This review critically evaluates recent developments on the use of nanoparticles to improve phytoremediation and rhizoremediation. The specific focus is on the processes by which nanoparticles improve remediation performance, including the enhancement of hydrocarbon bioavailability, rhizosphere microbial activity, catalytic conversion of recalcitrant hydrocarbon fractions, and alleviation of plant stress in a contaminated environment. Particular attention is paid to interactions among plants, microbes, and nanoparticles, as well as the novel phenomenon of nanorhizoremediation. The review also assesses the environmental fate, transformation mechanisms and potential ecotoxicological consequences of nanoparticles in the context of the soil plant systems. Although there were encouraging results in the laboratory, several research gaps remain. Among these are the lack of long-term field-scale validation, limited standardisation of nanoparticle characterisation and delivery methodologies, inadequate understanding of co-contaminant interactions, and a lack of thorough life-cycle risk–benefit analysis. These issues are crucial to the development of safety-oriented systems that enable the sustainable and responsible use of nanophyto-remediation technologies in petroleum-contaminated soils.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>