Materials capable of gasochromic behavior are still rare. In this paper, amorphous gasochromic hybrid silica material containing phosphomolybdic acid (PMo12) is prepared by the sol–gel technique. The structure and properties of the material are investigated by cyclic voltammetry, thermal gravimetric analysis, FT-IR spectra, X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectra. The structural integrity of phosphomolybdic acid has been preserved after incorporation into the porous silica framework. Furthermore, the PMo12–SiO2 hybrid material shows sensing activity for H2S and SO2 gases at room temperature based on the color change.