At present the pharmaceutical academia and industries are focusing on the use of natural materials and resources for development of pharmaceutical product. Due to advances in drug delivery technology, currently, excipients are included in novel dosage forms to fulfill specific functions. Various natural polymers are widely being studied as a potential carrier material for site specific drug delivery because of its non-toxic and biocompatible in nature. Natural polymers (polysaccharides) have been investigated for drug delivery applications as well as in biomedical fields. Modified polymer or synthetic polymers have found its application as a support material for cell culture, tissue engineering and gene delivery. Recent trends towards use of natural products or plant based products demand the replacement of synthetic additives with natural ones. These natural materials have many advantages over synthetic ones as they are biodegradable, chemically inert, less expensive, nontoxic and widely available. This review provides an overview of the different modified polymer derivatives and their applications with special consideration being put on biomedical engineering and controlled drug delivery.