Electrospinning has received much attention recently due to the growing interest in nano-technologies and the unique material properties. This review focuses on recent progress in applying electrospinning technique in production of biodegradable nanofibers to the emerging field of biomedical. It first introduces the basic theory and parameters of nanofibers fabrication, with focus on factors affecting the morphology and fiber diameter of biodegradable nanofibers. Next, commonly electrospun biodegradable nanofibers are discussed, and the comparison of the degradation rate of nanoscale materials with macroscale materials are highlighted. The article also assesses the recent advancement of biodegradable nanofibers in different biomedical applications, including tissue engineering, drug delivery, biosensor and immunoassay. Future perspectives of biodegradable nanofibers are discussed in the last section, which emphasizes on the innovation and development in electrospinning of hydrogels nanofibers, pore size control and scale-up productions. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.