Nanoparticles have presented a new paradigm in anticancer drug delivery to reduce adverse effects and improve therapeutic outcomes. Nanoparticle surface properties and morphology significantly affect the drug delivery to tumors while passive targeting. Conjugations with hyaluronic acid, transferrin and aptamers have shown to be effective in active targeting of anticancer drugs to tumor tissues. This review presents an overview of some credible techniques of passive and active drug delivery to tumors.