Ensembles of free standing particles of titanium, zinc, copper and iron oxides of 6-109 nm in size were sol-gel synthesized with a use of a cellulose paper as a template. The calcination time as short as 60 min at 550°C in air was found to be sufficient for the formation of crystalline single phase TiO 2 or ZnO nanoparticles, Cu 2 O+CuO or Fe 2 O 3 +Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposites and to burn out the organic components. The impurities initially present in the cellulose (Сa, Na, Cl) were detected in the synthesized compounds.