This contribution reports a method delivering inorganic nanopatterned and functional surfaces from the ion beam etching of mesoporous thin films. The nanoscaled patterns are spherical or cylindrical cavities that are arranged on a macroscale. A variety of chemical functions can be grafted selectively in the cavities to add specific interactions with functional nanoparticles to be positioned. The process opens a simple route to localize and organize functional spherical or linear nanoparticles on extended surfaces.