The research determined if the inflow of foreign direct investment has a significant impact on the socio-economic upgrading of the Nigerian economy. Standard of living and job creation served as measures of socio-economic development. The methodology adopted involved the use of multiple regression analysis to assess secondary time series data from 1996 to 2020 sourced from the World Bank. The study revealed that foreign direct investment inflow has a positive effect on both employment generation and standard of living. The impact on job creation was significant while that on standard of living was weak. Thus the research was able to establish a positive relationship between foreign direct investment and socio-economic development in Nigeria. It was recommended that institutional frameworks be established and supported to enable foreign investors to operate profitably in the Nigerian economy. Another suggestion was for foreign firms operating in Nigeria to be given tax incentives to augment their ability to serve as engine of socio-economic enhancement of the host economy. Finally, the Nigerian government should tackle the problems of insecurity and inflation to foster macroeconomic stability, thus attracting the inflow of foreign direct investment.