Single-cored Ru@H-SiO2 (H: hollow) core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) with around 4.3 nm Ru cores and hollow SiO2 shells were prepared successfully. In this synthetic process, we obtained multi-cored Ru@SiO2 NPs initially, single-cored RuO2@H-SiO2 NPs during treatment, and single-cored Ru@H-SiO2 NPs in the end. The Ru@SiO2 NPs were prepared by water-in-oil microemulsion method, and the size and core number of Ru@SiO2 NPs can be controlled. Single-cored RuO2@H-SiO2 NPs and Ru@H-SiO2 NPs were successively obtained by calcination and reduction. The structure showed promising aggregate-resistant performance and potential application in catalysis. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.