Mass cytometry (MC) is an emerging biological analysis technique which detected by inductively coupled plasma time of flight mass spectrometry (ICP-TOF-MS). Functional micro/nano-material as mass tag makes simultaneous labeling and measurement for up to 50 biomarkers a reality. Therefore, this technology can recognize and quantify different biomarkers at single cell level.With the development of new materials serving as mass tag, the range of information obtained through CyTOF continues to increase. Typical functional micro/nano-materials include metal chelating polymers (MCP), metal nanoparticles（MNP） and polymer microspheres. This article introduces and summarizes the main characteristics and applications of these materials as mass tag reagents, and provides a brief review of their future development to assist the progress of mass cytometry.