Ordered mesoporous silica with macroscopic shape has been prepared with a new hybrid template of gel and poly(ethylene oxide)(106)-poly(propylene oxide)(70)-poly(ethylene oxide)(106) (pluronic F127) surfactant, where both water-soluble curdlan gel and platonic F127 significantly affect the mesoporous structure of silica. The thermal analysis revealed the noticeable interaction between gel and F127, which contributed to the formation of homogenous hybrid template. In the hybrid template, F127 is responsible for the formation of ordered porous structure, and gel is for control of macroscopic shape of mesoporous silica. The use of the new hybrid template is helpful in obtaining monolithic mesoporous silica solids because it remarkably reduces the shrinkage in the removal of the organic template by calcinations. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.