Nanoscale functional materials such as luminescent materials (ZnS:Ag+, Cl-; LaPO4:Ce3+,Tb3+; Y2O3:Eu3+), color pigments (CoAl2O4; Cr2O3; ZnCo2O4; (Ti0.85Ni0.05Nb0.10)O-2; alpha-Fe2O3; Cu(Fe,Cr)O-4; TiO2), transparent conducting oxides (ZnO:In3+), and catalytically active oxides (CeO2; Mn3O4; V2O5) are prepared with the polyol method. All these materials are yielded as crystalline, spherical, and almost monodisperse particles, 30-200 nm in size. Characterization is carried out based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), optical spectroscopy, and conductance measurements. The preparation via the polyol method is singled out due to its broad and easy applicability. The resulting material properties are similar to or better than nanoscale materials prepared by other measures. Some materials and their properties, e.g., ZnS:Ag+,Cl- as a phosphor, ZnCo2O4 and Cu(Fe,Cr)O-4 as pigments, and ZnO:In3+ as transparent conductive oxide, are presented for the first time at the nanoscale.