Hydrogel nanocomposites have been investigated with increasing interest over the last several years due their ability to improve or enhance the properties of conventional hydrogels. These improvements may include increased mechanical strength or the ability for the gels to be remotely-controlled via external stimuli such as light or magnetic fields. These systems can be utilized in a wide variety of biomedical applications such as drug delivery, tissue engineering and hyperthermia treatment for cancer. In this work, the nanocomposites studied involved a temperature-responsive, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based system and a stealth, poly(ethylene glycol)-based systems, both with and without iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles incorporated into the hydrogel matrices. The addition of iron oxide nanoparticles allows for the nanocomposites to be heated upon exposure to an alternating magnetic field. The heating of these magnetic nanocomposites can allow them to be used for hyperthermia-based cancer treatment by damaging cancer cells while leaving normal healthy cells and tissues unharmed due to the higher sensitivity of the cancer cells. This remote-controlled hyperthermia may also lead to new multi-modality cancer treatments with combined treatment options such as chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Heating analysis of the gels was completed to show the heating capability of the gels in their dry and swollen states. The nanocomposites were also analyzed for the swelling characteristics and show the potential to also be used for drug delivery. Cytocompatibility analysis performed on the nanocomposites and nanoparticulates to show that they can be safely used in implant applications.