According to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), porous materials are classified into three categories: microporous with pore diameters less than 2 nm, mesoporous having pore diameters between 2 and 50 nm, and macroporous with pore sizes larger than 50 nm. Highly ordered mesoporous silicates such as MCM (Mobil Composition of Matter No. 41, 48,...) and SBA (Santa Barbara Amorphous material No. 1, 3, 15,...) have been long recognized as very promising materials with a rich variety of possible applications (1). The various types of MCM and SBA silicates can be distinguished by the number after the acronym. The three most important MCM materials are: MCM-41 (hexagonal), MCM-48 (cubic) and MCM-50 (lamellar). Also a wide variety of SBA materials has been prepared, such as SBA-1 (cubic), SBA-11 (cubic), SBA-12 (3D hexagonal network), SBA-14 (lamellar), SBA-15 (2D hexagonal) and SBA-16 (cubic cage-structured). They show ordered arrangements of channels and cavities of different geometry confined between walls built up from SiO 2 units. Among all numerous applications of mesoporous materials, ranging from separation technology, catalysis, hydrogen Interest in and thereby also development of ordered mesoporous silicates as drug delivery devices have grown immensely over the past few years. On hand selected cases from the literature, the power of such systems as delivery devices has been established. Specifically, it is shown how it is possible to enhance the release kinetics of poorly soluble drugs by embedding them in mesoporous silicates. Further critical factors governing the structure and release of the model drug itraconazole incorporated in an SBA-15 matrix are briefly reviewed. The possibility of functionalizing the surface of mesoporous matrices also under harsher conditions offers a broad platform for the design of stimuli-responsive drug release, including pH responsive systems and systems which respond to the presence of specific ions, reducing agents, magnetic field or UV light, whose efficiency and biocompatibility has been established in vitro.