Silica fiber mats were fabricated by soaking electro-spun poly(vinyl alcohol) fibril mat in NH4OH-catalyzed (Stober type) colloidal silica sol and silica oligomer solution from HCl-catalysis of the system tetraethoxysilane, ethanol, and water, followed by appropriate heat treatments. The silica fibrils from the Stober silica sol were hollow nano-tubes (NT) consisting of nano-sized silica particles, while the silica nanofibers (NF) from the acid-catalyzed sol were solid with minimal porosity. A model was proposed for the NF and NT formation processes. (C)2012 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.