Absorbent materials are considered as the most effective way of dealing with oil spill accidents and the increasing industrial oily wastewater leakages. However, poor recycling ability and low efficiency limit their application. This paper presents a fabrication approach of porous Al2O3 plates (PAP), which combines foaming and gel-tape-casting methods. The plates, which had high bending strength (4.5 +/- 0.2 MPa) and oil permeation (4.4 x 10(5) L.m(-2).h(-1).bar(-1)), absorbed various kinds of oils rapidly, with space utilization > 98%, while the absorbed oil was readily collected by simply being poured out or gas blown. Furthermore, the plate markedly maintained its high separation efficiency, mechanical strength, and hydrophobic properties after 1000 absorption-blowing cycles, as well as after treatment in several harsh environments. The results suggest that this fast and simple ceramic plate preparation approach can be proposed for practical applications in technologies of collecting oils and organic solvents from water.