Micron-sized porous composite particles composed of CeO2 and SiO2 nanoparticles were prepared for a UV absorption application by an aerosol spray-drying process from as-prepared CeO2 nanoparticles, commercial SiO2, and a polystyrene latex template. The morphology, structure crystallinity and pore size distribution of the as-prepared porous CeO2-SiO2 composite particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) method, respectively. The porous CeO2-SiO2 composite particles, with diameters of approximately 10 mu m, showed a spherical morphology. As the contents of CeO2 in the precursor was increased from 0.25 wt% to 1.5 wt%, we observed a change in the morphology of the composite particles from compactly packed porous particles to loosely packed porous particles. The as-prepared CeO2-SiO2 composite particles were composed of meso-and macropores in the range of 3-200 nm. The effect of the CeO2 content on the porous composite particles in terms of the UV absorption properties was also investigated by UV-visible spectroscopy. When the content of CeO2 exceeded 0.75 wt% in the precursor, the particles showed higher UV absorption values compared to those of commercial TiO2 nanoparticles. The as-prepared porous CeO2-SiO2 composite particles can therefore be promising materials given their high UV absorption value. (C) 2016 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.