A new route to modify the mesoporous silica MCM-41 with carbon, using the inherent surfactant template in the as-synthesized sample as the carbon precursor, is reported in this article. Apart from the advantage of omitting energy and time required for removal of template, the resulting silica-carbon composites exhibit a high efficiency in adsorption and catalytic decomposition of N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR), the typical carcinogenic pollutant in environment. The influence of carbonization temperature on the structure and performance of the resulting carbon-silica composite was investigated by use of XRD, N-2 adsorption-desorption, FTIR and TG-DSC techniques, and the instantaneous adsorption and the temperature-programmed surface reaction (TPSR) of NPYR as well as the reduction of nitrosamines level of cigarette smoke were also utilized to assess the actual function of these composites. The carbonization performed in the range of 773-973 K enabled the resulting composites to possess a higher activity than parent MCM-41 in eliminating volatile nitrosamines, which is beneficial for controlling carcinogenic pollutants in environment. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.