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The use of porous silica microshells (microparticles) generated from fossilised diatoms known as diatomite or diatomaceous earth (DE) as a natural drug carrier for drug delivery application is presented. The structure, morphology, particle size distribution, porosity, surface area and crystallinity of diatom microshells obtained from Australian mine (Mount Sylvia Diatomite Pty. Ltd.) were characterised using scanning electron microscopy, particle size measurements, BET analysis and X-ray powder diffraction analysis. To prove the drug delivery concept based on diatoms for implant and oral drug delivery, indomethacin as a model of water poorly soluble drug was investigated. Results show the effectiveness of diatom silica for drug delivery application, with about 22wt.% drug loading capacity and sustained drug release over two weeks. Two steps drug release from diatom structures were observed: the first is rapid …