Lung cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, underscoring the urgent need for transformative therapeutic strategies. Conventional treatments face critical limitations, including poor targeting efficiency, systemic toxicity, and resistance to targeted therapies. Nanotechnology offers promising solutions by enabling enhanced drug stability, bioavailability, and targeting precision. This review integrates recent advancements in nanotechnology-driven drug delivery systems with a particular focus on computational tools that optimize nanocarrier design. Molecular simulations, quantum mechanics, and AI-driven models have emerged as powerful approaches to streamline development, accelerate innovation, and enable personalized therapies. Clinically, several nanocarrier-based formulations have been associated with favorable therapeutic outcomes in lung cancer patients, including extended progression-free survival and reduced treatment-related toxicity. Despite these advancements, challenges remain in scaling production, ensuring regulatory compliance, and achieving broad clinical adoption. By addressing these barriers through interdisciplinary collaboration, nanotechnology holds the potential to revolutionize lung cancer therapy and set new standards for precision oncology.© 2025 The Author(s). Thoracic Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.