Recently, several types of research have been conducted on solar stills due to the low cost of water productivity, the feasibility of their use in most climates, and their environmentally friendly properties. The performance of solar desalination systems depends on various geometric designs and methods. This includes thermoelectric heating and cooling; phase change materials; solar collectors, PV/T; glass cover cooling, external condenser, and employing nanomaterials. This investigation seeks to evaluate different nanomaterials? effect on the water production rate in solar distillation systems. Previous studies have mainly used nanofluids to increase the water temperature. However, a simultaneous increase in both the condensation and evaporation rates using a nanofluid can significantly affect water productivity and improve solar performance. Another application of nanoparticles in solar stills is their use in the glass cover coating for condensation rate improvements. In the washbasin, liner coating increases the evaporation rate. In some research, adding nanomaterials to phase change materials increases the heat transfer rate between phase change materials. It also increases the water production rate during low solar intensity. The effect of nanomaterials on the performance of all types of solar desalination systems is reviewed in the current work.