Organic inorganic composite materials were prepared via HCl-catalyzed sol-gel reactions of tetrabutyl titanate at room temperature in the presence of nonsurfactant compounds, such as 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid, glycerin and pentaerythritol. as templates or pore Forming agents. Removal of the nonsurfactant molecules from the composites by extraction with water resulted in mesoporous titania materials. Characterized with nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, these materials were found to have large surface areas (similar to 300 m(2)/g) and pore volumes (similar to0.25 cm(3)/g) as well as narrowly distributed pore diameters of around 3.2 nm. Similar results were also obtained when a neutral surfactant poly(ethylene glycol) was used as the templates. In the presence of templates, the titania materials obtained may contain crystalline anatase phase.