Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a technology for desalination and water purification that charged ions are electrosorbed on the porous electrodes, thus its performance largely affected by choice of electrodes. In this paper, the MnO2/nanoporous carbon composites were prepared and used as electrodes in CDI Salt removal efficiency for the MnO2/nanoporous carbon was 16.9 mu mol/g which was higher than 5,4 mu mol/g of the commercially available activated carbon (AC). The nanoporous carbons were synthesised using silica templates while their composites were prepared by a co-precipitation method and were characterised carefully. The capacitance of the MnO2/carbon composites (204.7 F/g) was higher than the AC (98.6 F/g). The capacitance increase may be attributed to the high surface area and suitable pore size distribution properties. Moreover, the MnO2 film provided a high surface adsorption capability and an effective cation intercalation. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.