Effective anticancer therapy can be achieved by designing a targeted drug-delivery system with high stability during circulation and efficient uptake by the target tumour cancer cells. We report here a novel nano-assembled drug-delivery system, formed by multivalent host-guest interactions between a polymer-cyclodextrin conjugate and a polymer-paclitaxel conjugate. The multivalent inclusion complexes confer high stability to the nano-assembly, which efficiently delivers paclitaxel into the targeted cancer cells via both passive and active targeting mechanisms. The ester linkages between paclitaxel and the polymer backbone permit efficient release of paclitaxel within the cell by degradation. This novel targeted nano-assembly exhibits significant antitumour activity in a mouse tumour model. The strategy established in this study also provides knowledge for the development of advanced anticancer drug delivery.