Diverse hard template synthetic methodologies are being employed for the synthesis of mesostructured metal oxide and carbon nanomaterials, with the application of mesoporous silica as the hard template. We describe the main differences and advantages/disadvantages between the soft and hard templated synthetic routes, provide an overview of the synthesis and characteristics of different templating mesoporous silica nanomaterials and discuss on practical aspects of the hard template synthetic methodology for obtaining various metal-oxide and carbon-based mesostructured nanomaterials. Also, we cover various recent applications of thus constructed mesostructured metal oxide and carbon nanomaterials, such as sensing, energy storage, fuel cells, and catalysis, which demonstrate the highly promising character of the hard template methodology for the synthesis of a new generation of nanomaterials with broad application potential.