A simple and efficient route is reported for the synthesis of mesoporous carbon materials by directly carbonizing hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin-silica composites. The resulting carbon materials, with uniform wormlike mesoporous structure and certain degree graphitic phase characteristics in porous wall, possess narrow pore size distribution, high surface area (> 1000 m(2) g(-1)) and pore volume (> 1.2 cm(3) g(-1)). It is worth mentioning that the carbon materials have high catalytic activity for the reduction of p-nitrotoluene using hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent; moreover, the catalytic activity is not reduced notably after being reused for six times. Crown Copyright (c) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.