potential as drug and gene delivery vehicles due to the insufficient morphological stability. Therefore, we developed a cerasome with a liposomal bilayer structure and an atomic layer of inorganic polyorganosiloxane networks on its surface by molecularly designed lipidic organoalkoxysilane (Figure 1). Such unique structure gives wide applicability to cerasomes in roles as drug and gene delivery systems. Cerasome combines the advantages of both conventional liposomes and silica NPs: (1) The siloxane surface can facilitate the stabilization of cerasomes in an environment with a slightly alkaline pH or a significant salt concentration; (2) the presence of a liposomal bilayer structure reduces the overall rigidity and density of cerasomes greatly compared to silica NPs; (3) cerasomes can be loaded with hydrophilic, hydrophobic as well as amphiphilic drugs without destroying their morphological stability; and (4) the silanol groups on the surface of cerasome can be functionalized to allow the easy bioconjugation of biomolecules with silane-coupler chemistry. Various therapeutic agents (doxorubicin, paclitaxel, siRNA etc.) and medical nanoparticles (quantum dots, gold and Fe3O4 etc.) were loaded into cersomes. Moreover, their surface was outfitted with ligands for targeting delivery to the tumor sites. Each component would operate a different function, such as molecular targeting, contrast enhanced imaging (fluorescence, MRI, CT and ultrasound etc.) and therapy (chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, gene therapy or combined therapy). Therefore, the cerasomes serve as a theranostic nanomedicine to be capable of noninvasive imaging and remote-controlled therapy.