Nanomaterials have attracted extensive attention in the study of enhanced oil recovery due to their unique physical and chemical properties. However, there are still some shortcomings such as poor dispersion, easy agglomeration and low recovery rate. It is very important to synthesize new nanoparticles and apply them to the research of enhanced oil recovery. In this paper, ZIF-8 nanoparticles were prepared for EOR applications and their microstructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy. In order to prepare the nanofluids, the nanoparticles were dispersed in brines with different concentrations, which were characterized through analyzing their stability. Then the prepared nanofluids were used to measure the interfacial tension and contact angle between crude oil and water on the surface of sandstones. Finally, the core displacement experiments were carried out. The results show that the average diameter of the prepared ZIF-8 nanoparticles is 65.8nm, and the phase state is single without impurities. When the mass fraction is not higher than 0.03%, the dispersion in water is excellent, and the absolute value of Zeta potential is about 30mV, which has a high stability. After adding 0.03% ZIF-8 nanoparticles in simulated formation water and low salinity water, the interfacial tension values decreased to 4.662 and 3.965mN/m, respectively, which decreased by 75.76% and 73.27% compared with that without adding. The contact angle decreases from 114°, 109° to 78° and 73°, respectively, and the rock surface towards to more water-wet, which is more conducive to the peeling of oil film. Thus, the recovery was increased by 8.25% and 10.71% with 0.03% ZIF-8 nanofluid under the high and low salinity conditions, respectively.