An accurate definition of clinical target volume (CTV) is essential for the application of radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treatment. A novel epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting contrast agent (C225-USPIO) was designed by conjugating ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles with cetuximab (C225), to non-invasively define the CTV of tumor. The immunobinding activity of C225-USPIO to NPC cell line CNE1 was confirmed by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. The time-dependent accumulation of C225-USPIO in CNE1 cells was evaluated using Prussian blue staining. Targeted internalization and subcellular localization of C225-USPIO was confirmed by transmission electron microscope. The results indicated that C225-USPIO specifically bound to EGFR on the surface of CNE1 cells and was taken up into the cell. The uptake of C225-USPIO by CNE1 cells increased significantly with time, when compared with human IgG-USPIO. In addition, 4.7 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed that C225-USPIO had a capacity to accumulate in the CNE1 cells, with a resultant marked decrease in MRI T2-weighted signal intensity over time. These findings imply that C225-USPIO has the potential as an MRI contrast agent and can be employed to non-invasively detect early-stage NPC with EGFR overexpression. This provides sufficient theoretical basis for commencing in vivo experiments with the compound. © 2011 The Author. Published by ABBS Editorial Office in association with Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.