Mesoporous structure SnO2 microspheres with core-shell structure were synthesized through a facile method using SnCL4 as raw material, bioactive yeast cell as a bio-template, respectively. The products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, high resolution scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements. Results showed that regular oval-like microspheres with core-shell structure can be formed when the bioactive yeast cell was added, and the mean size of the microspheres was in the range of 2 to 3 mu m. The as-prepared SnO2 microspheres presented a high specific surface area of 85.7 m(2)/g and a mesoporous structure with the pore size of 38.8 nm. TEM showed that the crystal size of SnO2 was about 6 +/- 0.5 nm. A possible formation mechanism for this kind of core shell structure was proposed. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.