Cupric oxide mesoporous nanosheets (CuO-MNS) were successfully synthesized via a novel cupric acetate self-induced, stabilized route. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that CuO-MNS are well crystallized and present a pure monoclinic phase. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) exhibited that CuO-MNS are of 8-24nm in thickness. Mesopores of 2-5nm in diameter were also confirmed and calculated by nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms, which is well consistent with TEM observation. CuO-MNS have Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of 34.7m(2)/g and pore volume of 0.26cm(3)/g. Acetate ion plays the roles of inducing nucleation and growth of CuO nanosheets, as well as inducing and stabilizing mesopores in the nanosheets. Combining with the calculation and Gibbs theory, the synthetic mechanism was proposed in thermodynamics. This novel cupric acetate self-induced, stabilized route is green, low-cost, efficient, facile, and surfactant-free and may be useful for the synthesis of other mesoporous materials.