Objective: Thermal energy storage (TES), which refers to the storage of thermal energy at low or high temperatures, has various applications. In solar power generation applications, thermal energy is stored to produce continuous power and derive energy when solar energy is not available. Method: This article thoroughly analyses the literature to find the methods to increase the thermal conductivity and the existing rate of charging and discharging through nano structured phase change materials (PCM). The main disadvantage of PCM is its low thermal conductivity. To overcome this problem, nanostructured particles are added to enhance the thermal properties of PCM. PCMs embedded with different nano structured materials have shown change in their thermal and physical properties as well as charging and discharging rates. Conclusion: Different research groups have reported that the thermal conductivity enhancement of the PCM depending on the nanoparticle concentration, particle size, shape and temperature by a large extent. In this article, the thermal characteristics of PCM with single identical nanoparticles, PCM with hybrid nanoparticles and eutectic PCM mixture with nanoparticles were chosen for comparison. PCM with single identical nanoparticles were found to execute better performance in thermal conductivity compared to other configurations. PCM with single nanoparticles of alumina dispersed in paraffin wax and Al2O3-water nanofluid at higher concentrations showed better performance in the melting and freezing performance respectively compared to PCM with hybrid nanoparticles and eutectic PCM with nanoparticles at lower concentrations. © 2017 Bentham Science Publishers.