Induced boundary layer flow in the nanofluid caused by impulsively started nonlinear stretching sheet is analyzed in the presence of thermal radiation and magnetic field considering Navier's velocity sip boundary condition. The similarity solution is achieved numerically using Galerkin finite element technique. The variation of flow characteristics viz. nanofluid velocity, temperature and nanoparticle concentration is examined corresponding to different flow parameters considered in the problem. The findings of the investigation reveal that nonlinearity in the stretching sheet leads to a deceleration in the nanofluid velocity, temperature and nanoparticle concentration while the unsteadiness in the stretching tends to decelerate the velocity whereas temperature and nanoparticle concentration are found to be increasing with increase in unsteadiness. The problem investigated in this article is basically an extension for unsteady case of the previously done works on nanofluid flow over a sheet stretching with a power law velocity. (C) 2016 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.