Hollow mesoporous aluminosilicate spheres (HMAS) with middle strong acidity have been successfully synthesized by simply hydrothermally treating mesoporous silica spheres (MSS) in zeolite precursor solution. Based on a set of time-dependent experiments, it was found that the hollowing process was associated with a progressive mass redistribution and changes of pores structures. The surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) located in the pores of MSS protected the mesoporous silica spheres from dissolving into strongly basic zeolite precursor solution and acted as the template for mesoporous shell. Under the templating function of CTAB, primary zeolite units were introduced into the mesopore walls of HMAS. The acidity of the resultant samples HMAS was measured by NH3-TPD techniques. Catalytic tests showed that the HMAS catalysts exhibited high catalytic activity compared with the MSS and H beta zeolite for catalytic cracking of 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.