The design and development of hybrid materials with application in catalysis science is an interesting researching field, especially in the chemical industry for fine chemicals production. The properties of nanostructured catalysts can be changed by tuning the interaction between the support and the active phases. Silica nanoparticles are very convenient solid supports for the synthesis of organic-inorganic hybrid nanocatalysts, endowing them of the required features to optimize activity and selectivity, stability and recyclability. In this review, we analyze the latest developments and give a perspective concerning the recent applications of silica-based nanocatalysts for the synthesis of heterocyclic scaffolds, biologically active, via cascade reactions. Heterocyclic rings often are the structural cores responsible of the biological activities in natural products and synthetic compounds. These systems are frequently synthesized by multicomponent reactions (MCRs), through cascade reactions. Such versatile catalytic systems have been successfully applied in a great variety of organic transformations for the synthesis of complex molecules and would play a key role in establishing new and more efficient sustainable technologies. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.