Tungsten-containing functional meso-materials W-MCM-41 have been successfully synthesized and employed in the desulfurization of dibenzothiophene (DBT). The as-synthesized materials were characterized by XRD, XPS, TEM, Raman, FTIR, DRS, and BET analysis. The experimental results demonstrated that the mesoporous structure was well preserved after introduction of W species into the meso-materials. These materials presented a high dispersion of tungsten species and excellent catalytic activity on the removal of dibenzothiophene without any organic solvents as extractants, and the sulfur removal could reach 100.0% at 60 degrees C in 30 min. The catalytic performance on different sulfur compounds was also investigated in detail. After recycling for nine times, the removal of the oxidation desulfurization system could still reach 90.0%. According to the GC-MS analysis of the oxidation products, a mechanism was proposed for the absorptive oxidation process of DBT. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.