Hierarchical, biomorphic CeO2 hollow fibers with mesoporous tube walls have been fabricated using lens cleaning paper as biotemplates. After sintered at 550 degrees C in air, the cellulosic fibers of paper were converted into micro-tubes composing of CeO2 crystallites with grain size about 8 nm. The photocatalytic activity of the CeO2 fibers was evaluated by photodegradation efficiency of methylene blue in aqueous solution under daylight irradiation. The characterized results show that the CeO2 fibers faithfully replicated micro-fibrous structure derived from original template and possessed dramatic enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with bulk CeO2. This simple biotemplate method provides a cost-effective and eco-friendly route to obtain high performance photocatalysts. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.