Full text can be accessed at the following link http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167577X11012390Here, we report on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) manipulating the pores of silica beads (SBs) with sizes ranging from 0.5 to 1 mm. Silver ions were occluded inside the pores of SBs and in situ reduced to Ag-NPs using Sodium borohydride (NaBH4). SBs with different average pore diameters from 3.8 to 20 nm were used to assess the effect of their pore sizes and porous structures on the formation of Ag-NPs. Obtained results revealed that the silver amount occluded inside pores increases along with the increase of total pore volume. The particle sizes of the synthesized Ag-NPs mainly distribute from 8 to 15 nm and vary with the pore sizes and porous structure.