Background: The eyes are among the most readily accessible organs in terms of location in the body, yet drug delivery to eye tissues is particularly problematic. The anatomy, physiology and biochemistry of the eye limit the ophthalmic delivery of drugs. Numerous strategies in ophthalmic drug delivery have been made to expand the bioavailability and to prolong the remaining time of drugs treated topically to eye. Methods: Designing a novel delivery vehicles that can proficiently target the diseased eye tissue, generate high drug levels, and keep sustained and effective concentrations with no or minimum side effects is the main concentration of present examination. One of the encouraging approaches currently is the use of lipidic nanoparticle vehicles categorized by a submicron-meter dimension. Due to their properties and numerous advantages, solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructure lipid carriers are promising systems for ocular drug delivery. Conclusion: The focus of this review is on the recent developments in ophthalmic lipid nanoparticles, the rationale for their use, drug loaded SLNs and NLCs, and the characteristic advantages, limitations of this system and recent studies. © 2017 Bentham Science Publishers.