SiC porous ceramics were prepared by heating mixtures of Si powder and carbon black at 900°C for 24h in Na vapor. The grains of the Si powder were not only the source of Si for SiC but also served as templates for the pores in the SiC porous ceramics. Angular-shaped pores with sizes of 2–10, 10–150 and 50–150μm were formed by angular Si grains with sizes of ≤10, ≤50 and ≤150μm, respectively. The porosity of the SiC porous ceramics was around 55–59%. Spherical pores were also formed when spherical Si grains were used. A bending strength of 14MPa was measured for the SiC porous ceramics prepared with the Si grains (≤50μm).