Abstract: Core-shell nano-sized material as a new kind of composite material can play an incomparable performance advantage that outweigh a single material or alloy，under the synergy of the kernel and shell.According to the material composition properties，core-shell materials can be divided into four categories，i.e.inorganic/inorganic，inorganic/organic，organic/inorganic，and organic/organic.The formation mechanism of core-shell materials was introduced，and the latest research results and applications of silica as enclosure，and metals，metal oxides and molecular sieves as the kernel of core-shell inorganic materials were summarized.At last，the prospects on the future research and development of core-shell materials were also put forward.

Key words: core-shell nano-sized materials, silica, composite material