Pair Distribution Function (PDF) analysis is a powerful method for characterization of atomic structure in nanostructured materials where conventional crystallographic techniques may be challenged. We here review the use of total scattering and PDF for characterization of nanomaterials and show how detailed structural information can be obtained. Through examples from the literature, we introduce the use of different types of PDF modeling, such as real-space Rietveld refinement, modeling using discrete structure models, and Reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) methods. The examples cover a range of different types of nanomaterials, including crystalline nanoparticles, nanoclusters, as well as highly disordered nanostructured compounds, illustrating the versatility of the PDF method.