Lactoferrin has various beneficial bioactive functions as well as good biocompatibility and safety. Lactoferrin-based nanoparticles have found wide applications for packaging, protecting, and delivering food functional factors. This article reviews the structure of lactoferrin, lactoferrin receptors, and the functions of lactoferrin-based nanoparticles in the delivery of food functional factors, with a focus on the progress made in the past five years in lactoferrin-based nanoparticles for improving the bioavailability, stability, gastrointestinal absorption efficiency and controlled release of food functional factors. Currently, the use of lactoferrin-based nanoparticles significantly enhances the stability and bioavailability of functional factors in foods and increases the effective concentration and duration of these factors in the body. However, there are still numerous limitations and obstacles for lactoferrin-based nanoparticles, highlighting the need for further design and research.