Recent years have witnessed many breakthroughs in research on two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, among which is hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), a layered material with a regular network of BN hexagons. This review provides an insight into the marvellous nano BN flatland, beginning with a concise introduction to BN and its low-dimensional nanostructures, followed by an overview of the past and current state of research on 2D BN nanostructures. A comprehensive review of the structural characteristics and synthetic routes of BN monolayers, multilayers, nanomeshes, nanowaves, nanoflakes, nanosheets and nanoribbons is presented. In addition, electronic, optical, thermal, mechanical, magnetic, piezoelectric, catalytic, ecological, biological and wetting properties, applications and research perspectives for these novel 2D nanomaterials are discussed.