Micro-mesoporous SBA-3 silica (named SBA-3-12) has been successfully synthesized using mixed tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and 1,2bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE) (12:1 by molar ratio) as silica sources. Its micropore volume and relative ratio of micropore-to-mesopore volume are evidently increased in comparison with SBA-3-infinity synthesized using TEOS as single silica source (0.030 cm(3)/g VS. 0.015 cm(3)/g and 4.5% vs. 1.9%, respectively). The enhanced microporosity of SBA-3-12 is attributed to the occlusion of some BTESE-derived organic groups into its as-synthesized silica matrix. Upon introducing Ti into SBA-3, Ti-SBA-3-12 shows improved performance in cyclohexene epoxidation with tertbutyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as compared to Ti-SBA-3-infinity (conversion: 71% vs. 63%; TOF: 33 vs. 27 h(-1)). This improved performance is attributed to the presence of the micropores inside the mesopore wall that facilitate to expose more Ti sites to substrates. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.