Among the symposia organized by various study groups in the Japanese Society of Hygiene (JSH), the Study Group on Fibrous and Particulate Substances (SGFPS) presented a symposium entitled "The frontline of nanoparticle research" chaired by Professor Takemi Otsuki (Kawasaki Medical School, Japan) and Dr. Seishiro Hirano (National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan) on 26 March, 2012, as a part of the program of the 82nd Annual Meeting of JSH in Kyoto, Japan. Special features consist of three presentations given at the above-mentioned symposium. In this article, we introduce the progress of the Study Group on Fibrous and Particulate Substances (SGFPS) from the initial symposium entitled "Asbestos: Science and Society" held at the 76th Annual Meeting of JSH at Ube, Japan to the last above-mentioned symposium in Kyoto. The health-related issues caused by exposure to fibrous materials such as asbestos and also particulated substances such as nanoparticles will be lasting in the future and researchers including our study group have to make their best efforts to resolve these problems and to reduce health impairments due to exposure to environmental fibrous and particulated substances.