Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the literature that is currently available and take a glance at minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) with nanofluids (NFs) as viable candidates to improve the efficiency of various milling operations on challenging materials. Design/methodology/approach The extensive literature review is carried through the existing literature, which shows the effect of various process parameters in the milling operation of challenging materials under NF-MQL conditions. The manuscript also deals with identifying the inferences and research gaps from the literature review. The role and potential of NF-MQL in milling challenging materials are identified in this work. Findings The conclusion has also derived some recommendations for future study from the prior research, which will be helpful for any further research in this area. Research limitations/implications This research work is limited to milling operations in challenging materials. Practical implications NF-MQL applications in milling operations are comparatively underexplored and merit considerable research. The amount of effort industry practitioners put into sustainable manufacturing will surely be greatly reduced by thorough research on the milling of challenging materials under NF-MQL settings. Social implications MQL system has a great potential to perform well in the experimental endeavor. Despite that fact, majority of the small and medium scale manufacturing industries are still using the conventional flood system for the machining of the workpieces because of the unaffordable initial cost and requirement of expertise involved as compared to the flooded lubrication. This issue might be solved when more works will be accomplished in industries for small as well as medium scale production. Originality/value These are novel study approaches because there are so many variables that affect cutting efficiency; therefore, more research is required to assess and provide direction for the advancement of hard milling technology. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-01-2023-0010/

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