Meso-structured (opal and inverse opal) polymeric hydrogels of varied morphology and composition were prepared by using two methods: post-modification of the template-synthesized structured polymers and templatepolymerization of functional monomers. A polyacrylic acid based inverse opal hydrogel was chosen to demonstrate its fast pH response by changing color, which is important in designing tunable photonic crystals. Template effects of the hydrogels on controlling structure of the template-synthesized inorganic materials were discussed. The catalytic effect of acid groups inthe templates was emphasized for a preferential formation of TiO2 in the region containing acid groups, which allowed duplicating inorganic colloidal crystals from colloidal crystal hydrogels (or macroporous products from macroporous hydrogels) via one step duplication.