The last few decades have seen tremendous explosion of activity in the area of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Semiconducting metal oxides and their composites form an important class of materials for the envisaged cutting edge applications. Several approaches have been attempted by researchers to prepare nanocrystalline metal oxides, study the material properties and explore their feasibility for a variety of applications. In this review, the highlights of authors’ research efforts vis-à-vis the global state of nanomaterial research is discussed briefly. A comprehensive outlook on some of the important metal oxides, the various strategies practiced to synthesize them, along with a bird’s eye view of the results, important breakthroughs and achievements in the last decade are briefly discussed.