Elimination of heavy metals from contaminated streams is of prime concern due to their ability to cause toxic chaos with the metabolism of flora and fauna alike. Use of advanced nano-engineered technologies such as the innovative combination of surface chemistry, chemical engineering fundamentals and nanotechnology opens up particularly attractive horizons towards treatment of heavy metal contaminated water resources. The obtained product of surface engineered nanoadsorbent produced has successfully proven to show rapid adsorption rate and superior sorption efficiency towards the removal of a wide range of defiant heavy metal contaminants in wastewater. The use of these materials in water treatment results in markedly improved performance features like large surface area, good volumetric potential, extra shelf-lifetime, less mechanical stress, stability under operational conditions with excellent sorption behaviour, no secondary pollution, strong chelating capabilities and they are easy to recover and reuse. This review intends to serve as a one-stop-reference by bringing together all the recent research works on nanoparticles synthesis and its advantages as adsorbents in the treatment of heavy metal polluted wastewater that have so far been undertaken, thereby providing researchers with a deep insight and bridging the gap between past, present and future of the elegant nanosorbents.