Several studies have conducted in the area of loading curcumin (Cur) into halloysite nanotube (HNT) as a drug delivery systems. However, there is no study about surface functionalization of HNT by curcumin and evaluation its physico-chemical properties. Therefore, in the present work the chemistry of Cur absorption on the naked HNT was studied. The SEM, TEM images and FTIR spectra of HNT/Cur composite revealed the formation a complex between the external surface of HNT and Cur, a process that was led to surface roughness. TEM images and TGA curves also confirmed the entry of Cur into lumen of HNT. Based on XRD analysis, after Cur absorption onto HNT, crystallinity was decreased in the surface layers and increased in the inner layers. The TGA and DSC analyses showed that the removal of intercalated water may be due to Cur inclusion into surface cavities. The release profiles indicated that only lower than 1% of Cur was released after 24h revealing high stability of this composite. According to these promising findings we suggest to investigate the potential use of HNT/Cur as a nanofiller for cement, biomaterial and polymer manufacturing.