Due to the high therapeutic efficiency and minimum damage towards normal tissues, phototherapy has drawn a great deal of attention in recent decades. Herein, we reported the synthesis of novel phosphopeptide-decorated magnetic nanoparticles (peptide-Fe304 nanoparticles), and their usages in photothermal therapy against solid tumor. By using a classical coprecipitation method and a facile ligand exchange route, these peptide-Fe3O4 nanoparticles were prepared with inexpensive inhesion. Upon the irradiation of a near-infrared (NIR) light, these nanoagents exhibited great photothermal effect with high photo-stability. In vitro biocompatibility studies of these peptide-Fe3O4 nanoparticles indicated their low cytotoxicity, negligible hemolysis, and no effect on blood coagulation. As expected, 4T1 murine breast cancer cells could be effectively damaged by these light-mediated nanoagents. Significantly, animal experiments demonstrated that these nanoagents held great solid tumor ablation effect with the assistance of a NIR laser irradiation. Additional studies focused on the long-term toxicity of these nanoagents indicated their high bio-compatibility. Thus, these peptide-Fe3O4 nanoparticles could bring more opportunities to a new generation of photothermal agents in the field of biomedicine. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.