Thermally stable mesoporous aluminophosphates (AIPO) and silicoaluminophosphates (SAPO) were prepared at room temperature in the presence of a cationic surfactant and an organic base. These materials possess high surface areas and regular mesopores of approximately 35 Å diameter. By contrast to microporous crystalline aluminophosphate molecular sieves, mesoporous compounds are amorphous and characterized by Al/P ratios greater than 1. These particularities are responsible for a strong Lewis acidity, as evidenced by ammonia adsorption microcalorimetry. Mesoporous materials are more acidic than the microporous analogues and the amount of strong acid sites increases with the silicon content.