Nanosized SnO2 with mesoporous structure were synthesized through solvothermal method using SnCl4 as raw material, Stahlianthus involucratus leaves as bio-template, respectively. The products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, high resolution scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements. Results showed that nanosized SnO2 with mesoporous structure can be formed when Stahlianthus involucratus leaves were used as template. The as-prepared nanosized SnO2 present a high specific surface area of 95.4 m(2)/g and a mesoporous structure with the pore size of 9.6 nm. The average crystallite size is about 8 0.5 nm. Furthermore, their gas sensing performances toward several volatile organic compounds were investigated. Results showed that the mesoporous SnO2 exhibit highly sensitive and selective to n-butanol, indicating that it is a promising candidate for the applications of n-butanol gas sensor. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.