Porous carbon hollow particles (PCHPs) have many useful features such as a high specific surface area, large pore volume, and the presence of nanovoids, giving them potential for use in catalyst carriers, supercapacitors, and Li-ion batteries. However, conventional synthesis methods have many problems. In this study, we developed a new method to produce hollow polymer particles that retain their structure after carbonization, without using any templates which need to be removed later. These poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) (Poly(St-DVB)) hollow particles are hyper-cross-linked by Friedel-Crafts alkylation, which prevents collapse during carbonization. The synthesized PCHPs have a large specific surface area, and abundant micropores and macropores derived from their hollow structure. The shell of the PCHPs was found to be composed of amorphous carbon partially crystallized as graphite. (C) 2019 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.