Dendritic morphologies of a metal oxide, metal and conductive polymer were obtained by using the dendrites of a transition metal salt as a template. Dendrites of the transition metal salt, copper acetate monohydrate (Cu(CH3COO)2·H2O), were prepared under diffusion-controlled conditions in a polymer matrix, such as poly(vinyl alcohol; PVA). The resultant dendrites of Cu(CH3COO)2·H2O acted as a self-template and were converted to divalent copper oxide (CuO) by the thermal treatment with the removal of PVA. The macroscopic CuO dendritic shapes consisting of the nanocrystals were obtained, and the resultant CuO was reduced to metallic copper (Cu) without morphological changes. The dendritic morphologies of polypyrrole (PPy) were obtained by the diffusion of pyrrole (Py) vapor to the Cu(CH3COO)2·H2O dendrites, which acted as the reactive template. The oxidative polymerization of Py provided PPy in the PVA matrix. These results suggest that the approach to morphogenesis presented herein can be applied to other metal oxides, metals and polymers. Dendritic morphologies of a metal oxide, metal and conductive polymer were obtained by using the dendrites of a transition metal salt as a template. Dendrites of the transition metal salt, copper acetate monohydrate (Cu(CH3COO)2·H2O), were prepared under diffusion-controlled conditions in a polymer matrix, such as poly(vinyl alcohol). The resultant dendritic morphologies of Cu(CH3COO)2·H2O were replicated to copper oxide (CuO), metallic copper (Cu) and polypyrrole without morphological changes. These methods can be applied to other metal oxides, metals and polymers.