Manganese oxides hollow spheres were synthesized by heating manganese carbonate precursors prepared by a one-step, solid-state method. Addition of sodium chloride (NaCl) and surfactant nonylphenyl ether (NP9), heating time and heating temperature played important roles in the synthesis process. The crystals were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). It was shown that the product was pure and crystallized very well. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.