Thermally stable mesoporous titanium oxide can be synthesized under non-aqueous conditions by reacting a sodium-glycotitanate(IV) complex and hexadecylamine in ethylene glycol. The mesoporous structure is retained after calcination in air at 350 degreesC for 5 h. Modification of the compound with palladium by the deposition-precipitation method results in formation of ultrafine palladium particles. Although a fairly large part of the particles are considered to be confined in the blind pores, the catalytic activity for methanol decomposition to carbon monoxide and hydrogen is significantly higher than that of palladium supported on a commercial titanium oxide. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.