Abstract The demand is growing for new nanoscience-based technologies with unique properties that are different from traditional wet-chemical techniques. In recent years, laser ablation in liquid (LAL) has attracted increasing attention for nanomaterial synthesis, which has rapidly advanced both fundamental research and applications. Compared to other techniques, LAL is easy to set up and simple to perform. A large diversity of bulk and powder targets can be employed for LAL, which combined with an enormous variety of liquids, greatly diversify the nanomaterials that can be synthesized by LAL in terms of size, composition, shape, and structure. Although many reviews related to LAL have been published, a comprehensively thorough introduction that deals with the diversity of the targets and liquids used for LAL is still missing. To fill this gap, this review gives a comprehensive summary of the nanomaterials synthesized by LAL using different types of target and liquid, with an emphasis on the effects of liquids on the final nanoproducts. In order to provide a better understanding of the liquids’ effects, this review also discusses liquid additives such as salts, polymers, support materials, and their mixtures. Since many reactions occur during LAL, the scope of reactive laser ablation in liquid (RLAL) is redefined, and the representative reactions for each type of liquid used for LAL are summarized and highlighted. Consequently, this review will be a useful guide for researchers developing desirable nanomaterials via LAL.