By the Final Judgment and Order of Dismissal with Prejudice entered on December 1, 2003, Plaintiff's motion for final approval of class settlement and for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses is granted. The case is terminated.

According to a Press Release dated December 2, 2003, Nanophase Technologies Corporation announced that following a hearing on December 1, 2003, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ordered final approval of a $2,500,000 settlement of the securities class action lawsuit filed against the Company and certain of its current and former officers. Because the settlement has been funded by the Company's directors and officers liability insurance, the settlement will not have a material adverse effect on Nanophase's financial position.

In a press release dated July 2003, Nanophase Technologies Corp. reached an oral agreement in principle to settle the securities class action lawsuit filed against it and certain of its current and former officers, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, for $2.5 million.

The original complaint charges Nanophase and certain of its officers and directors with violations of federal securities laws. Among other things, plaintiff claims that defendants' material omissions and the dissemination of materially false and misleading statements regarding the nature of Nanophase's revenues and earnings caused Nanophase's stock price to become artificially inflated, inflicting enormous damages on investors.