Mesoporous ZnWO4 Was prepared with the template of PAMAM. The as-formed samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen absorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). It is found that the size of pore is ill the range of 5-22 run and that the porosity of ZnWO4 is composed of aggregated ZnWO4 nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activities towards degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and malachite green (MG) under UV light has been investigated. The formation mechanism of mesoporous structures is proposed. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.