To facilitate tumor recognition and subsequent anticancer function of NK cells, we developed hyaluronic acid (HA, ligands to target CD44 overexpressed onto cancer cells)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, cytoplasmic penetration blocker)-Lipid (molecular anchor for NK cell membrane decoration through hydrophobic interaction) conjugates for biomaterial-mediated ex vivo NK cell surface engineering. Here, CD44 is linked to cancer.