This disclosure provides a process for preparing mesoporous amorphous hydrous oxide of titanium, comprising formation of a precipitate comprising an ionic porogen and a hydrolyzed compound comprising titanium from an aqueous mixture in the pH range of 5 to 10; and removing the ionic porogen from the precipitate to recover a mesoporous hydrous oxide of titanium, the ionic porogen being in sufficient amount and the conditions of precipitating being effective for producing a mesoporous hydrous oxide of titanium having a surface area of at least about 400 m2/g and a pore volume of at least 0.4 cc/g.