To investigate the effects of particle size, mPEG molecular weight, coating density and zeta potential of monomethoxyl poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (mPEG-PLGA) nanoparticles on their transportation across the rat nasal mucosa, mPEG-PLGA-NPs with different mPEG molecular weights (M(r) 1 000, 2 000) and coating density (0, 5%, 10%, 15%) and chitosan coated PLGA-NP, which loaded coumarin-6 as fluorescent marker, were prepared with the nanoprecipitation method and emulsion-solvent evaporation method, and determine their particle size, zeta potential, the efficiency of fluorescent labeling, in vitro leakage rate and the stability with the lysozyme were determined. The effects of physical and chemical properties on the transmucosal transport of the fluorescent nanoparticles were investigated by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The result showed that the size of nanoparticles prepared with nanoprecipitation method varied between 120 and 200 nm; the size of nanoparticles prepared with emulsion-solvent evaporation method varied between 420 and 450 nm. Nanoparticles dispersed uniformly; the zeta potential of PLGA-NPs was negative; mPEG-PLGA-NPs was close to neutral; chitosan coated PLGA-NPs was positive; and the efficiency of fluorescent labeling were higher than 80%. In vitro leak was less than 5% within 4 h and nanoparticles were basically stable with lysozyme. The CLSM results show that the transportation efficiency of mPEG-PLGA-NPs with a high PEG coating density and high mPEG molecular weight was significantly higher than that of uncoated PLGA nanoparticles and also that of chitosan coated PLGA-NPs (P < 0.05). The hydrophilcity, zeta potential and particle size of nanoparticles play important roles on the efficiency of mPEG-PLGA nanoparticles to transport across the rat nasal mucosa.