A new type of porous silica bead (see Figure) with a narrow size distribution, useful for applications such as catalysis, biomolecule immobilization, and chromatographic separation, can be synthesized via a novel emulsion templating/sedimentation polymerization route. This method might be scaled up for the synthesis of significant quantities of beads, or extended to make, e.g., metal and metal oxide beads with high surface area and macropore volume.