A new, three-dimensional, amorphous mesoporous silicate containing zirconium, Zr-TUD-1, was synthesised via a direct hydrothermal treatment method using triethanolamine as the template. The mesoporosity of Zr-TUD-1 was confirmed by XRD, N-2 sorption and HR-TEM studies. The acid sites present in Zr-TUD-1 were evaluated by FT-IR studies of pyridine adsorption and shown to be predominately Lewis acidic. The nature of zirconium in Zr-TUD-1 was established by FT-IR, XPS and UV-vis studies. Zr-TUD-1 was tested in the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction. It showed a promising activity, in particular for the stereoselective reduction of steroids. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.