We report here the manufacturing of thick reproducible mesoporous silicon membranes with the description of the complete process. In the case of porous membranes, the advantages of using silicon are the possibility to use standard microfabrication techniques like wet and dry etching and then the easy integration with microelectronic systems and MEMS applications. Problems encountered and solutions are discussed. An application as a proton-conducting membrane for miniature fuel cells is proposed and has been implemented with encouraging results. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.