This paper presents a concise review of various organic reactions of monolayer-protected metal nanoparticles, with an emphasis on their current applications. Organic reactions of monolayer-protected nanoparticles lead to the functionalized nanoparticles, which exhibit interesting properties such as catalytic, electrochemical, photoresponsive, chemical sensing, and biocompatible properties. (C) 2003 Academie des sciences. Published by Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.