The era of carbon nanomaterials has started with the first reports on fullerenes and related compounds in the mid-eighties, and a tremendous increase of the research activity in the field has been observed ever since. New classes of carbon materials have entered the scene such as carbon nanotubes, carbon onions, nanoscale diamond and diamondoids. A major turning point was the appearance of graphene as a material available for in-depth investigations – spurred by the development of reliable production methods. The progress in terms of understanding the properties and chemistry of carbon nanomaterials has opened a whole new world of applications for nanomaterials in general. The present Thematic Series attempts to showcase the diversity in the field of carbon nanomaterials and carbon-rich compounds and to emphasize the links between the different classes of materials. Contributions from synthetic organic chemistry dealing with the formation and functionalization of carbon-rich molecules and from the area of functional nanomaterials illustrate the plethora of research activities.