•Polyol-mediated synthesis of wolframite-type tungstate nanoparticles.•Full series of compositions MWO4 accessible (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn).•Readily crystalline as-prepared nanoparticles without thermal post-treatment.•Small particle size (<20 nm) and high specific surface (up to 200 m2 g−1).•Fully functional, including superparamagnetism (CoWO4), intrinsic photoluminescence (ZnWO4), photocatalytic activity (CuWO4).A polyol-mediated synthesis is presented as a general access to nanoscaled transition-metal tungstates MWO4 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn). Using simple inorganic salts as starting materials, uniform and readily crystalline nanoparticles are prepared under mild conditions (T < 220 °C). The nanoparticles are of high quality in terms of small diameter (<20 nm), high surface area (up to 200 m2 g−1), phase purity and yield (>85%). Size, morphology and composition can be adjusted by precise variation of the reaction parameters, including type of starting material, duration and temperature of reaction. The transition-metal tungstate nanoparticles are fully functional, exhibiting typical properties of this class of materials, for instance, superparamagnetism (CoWO4), luminescence (ZnWO4) and photocatalytic activity (CuWO4).