Malignant tumors endanger human health, and their characteristics make treatment difficult. Near-infrared (NIR) light has become an ideal choice for biotherapy because it offers good penetrability and low damage. In recent years, NIR-based photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, photochemotherapy, and multimodal combination therapy have been developing rapidly, and the corresponding functional nanomaterials have been emerging. This review summarizes advances in NIR-triggered functional nanomaterials in tumor therapy, involving therapeutic reagent applications and synergistic and combined therapeutic systems. The nanomaterials have obvious advantages, such as the excellent performance of photothermal therapy- and photodynamic therapy-related nanomaterials, and multifunctional nanoplatforms capable of integrating multiple therapies. However, they face many challenges, such as the limitations of individual therapies and technical difficulties in the combined applications. In the future, we should focus on optimizing the materials, evaluating the combined therapeutic mechanism, innovating the technology and promoting clinical translation. The nanomaterials are expected to become the key means of clinical oncology treatment, bringing hope to overcome the malignant tumors.