36NOVEL BIOSILVER NANOPARTICLES AND THEIR BIOLOGICAL UTILITY AND OVERVIEWGold, silver, and copper have been used mostly for the synthesis of stable nanoparticles and also bionanoparticles. Chemical reduction has been applied method for the preparation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), however, demerits have been brought out by many researchers. Hence, the development of reliable, ecofriendly processes for the synthesis of nanomaterials is an important aspect of nanotechnology today. One of the most important approaches that shows immense potential is based on the biosynthesis of nanoparticlesusing plant extract or plant bioactive molecules. In this paper, various methodology used for the biosynthesis of nanomaterials using bioreduction procedures have been discussed. List of various plants (extracts and biomolecules) utilized for the synthesis have been highlighted. Most of the plant extracts contain proteins, or tannins or phenolic compounds which act as both reducing and capping agents forming stable and shape-controlled Ag NPs. The pH of the plant extract also governs the time of synthesis of Ag NPs. The mechanism of the Ag NPs against micro and macro organism is discussed in terms of microbicidal and insecticidal value. Other biological values are also discussed in detailsksraj42@gmail.comReview412014Plants,Bioactive compounds,Silver,Nanoparticles,Biological value,MechanismK. SahayarajCrop Protection Research Centre, Department of Zoology, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Palayamkottai – 627 002, Tamil Nadu, India.