Mesoporous materials based on zirconia with a specific surface area of 350 to 680 m(2)/g, a pore volume of 0.28 to 0.75 cm(3)/g, and a pore diameter of 24 to 112 angstrom were obtained by template synthesis. The synthesis comprised two steps. In the first step, an aqueous surfactant solution and precipitated zirconium hydroxide were held under hydrothermal conditions. In the second step, the intermediate products thus obtained were treated with a silicon dioxide solution in tetraethylammonium hydroxide, followed by filtration and calcination in air. The materials show promise as supports for heterogeneous hydrocarbon conversion catalysts.