For a biomaterial to be considered suitable for bone repair it should ideally be both bioactive and have a capacity for controllable drug delivery; as such, mesoporous SiO₂ glass has been proposed as a new class of bone regeneration material by virtue of its high drug-loading ability and generally good biocompatibility. It does, however, have less than optimum bioactivity and controllable drug delivery properties. In this study, we incorporated strontium (Sr) into mesoporous SiO₂ in an effort to develop a bioactive mesoporous SrO-SiO₂ (Sr-Si) glass with the capacity to deliver Sr²⁺ ions, as well as a drug, at a controlled rate, thereby producing a material better suited for bone repair. The effects of Sr²⁺ on the structure, physiochemistry, drug delivery and biological properties of mesoporous Sr-Si glass were investigated. The prepared mesoporous Sr-Si glass was found to have an excellent release profile of bioactive Sr²⁺ ions and dexamethasone, and the incorporation of Sr²⁺ improved structural properties, such as mesopore size, pore volume and specific surface area, as well as rate of dissolution and protein adsorption. The mesoporous Sr-Si glass had no cytotoxic effects and its release of Sr²⁺ and SiO₄^4- ions enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity - a marker of osteogenic cell differentiation - in human bone mesenchymal stem cells. Mesoporous Sr-Si glasses can be prepared to porous scaffolds which show a more sustained drug release. This study suggests that incorporating Sr²⁺ into mesoporous SiO₂ glass produces a material with a more optimal drug delivery profile coupled with improved bioactivity, making it an excellent material for bone repair applications.