Purpose <p>The booming nanotechnology and the widespread release of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) into agroecosystems have brought about increasing concerns on their environmental fate, mobility and ecological effects. Despite much knowledge on the NMs properties, transport, and toxicity of bulk soils and plants, studies have nearly ignored the rhizosphere as a regulatory interface of significance and mostly its use is taken as a passive medium. Such an exposure-focused approach has constrained mechanistic explanations of highly variable behavior and phytotoxicity of NMs being measured according to plant species, soils and environmental conditions. This review synthesizes current studies to highlight the importance of root exudates as important but under-recognized regulators linking the environmental behavior of NMs with plant responses.</p> Recent Findings <p>Recent studies demonstrate that root exudates play an active and dynamic role in regulating the environmental behavior and phytotoxicity of NMs in the rhizosphere. Root exudate components can alter NMs aggregation, dissolution, surface reactivity, and rhizosphere retention, thereby reshaping their migration pathways and environmental fate. At the same time, increasing evidence suggests that root exudates mediate plant responses to NMs exposure by regulating uptake pathways, metal bioavailability, oxidative stress intensity, detoxification processes, and nutrient homeostasis. These rhizosphere-mediated interactions are now recognized as important drivers underlying the highly variable effects of NMs across different plant species, soil properties, and environmental conditions.</p> Summary <p>This review advances a triadic plant–NMs–environment framework by incorporating rhizosphere chemistry, plant physiology, and transformations of NMs. These insights provide a mechanistic foundation for improving environmental risk assessment and guiding the rational design and sustainable application of nanotechnologies in agricultural systems. In addition, this review identifies the rhizosphere as a dynamic regulatory interface that should be integrated into future studies evaluating the environmental safety and agricultural application of NMs.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>