Along with basic physicochemical properties, the morphology of sol-gel materials, both on the macro-, meso-, and nanoscale, controls function and utility. Referring to recent achievements, we focus on the relation between form and activity for functional silica-based materials to elucidate a few general concepts of usefulness in guiding research in this burgeoning field. © 2010 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Chem Rec 10: 000–000; 2010: Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI 10.1002/tcr.200900023