The liquid-phase photocatalytic oxidative degradation of 1-octanol in oxygenated acetonitrile on highly dispersed titanium oxide catalysts anchored onto transparent Vycor glass was compared with that obtained on standard TiO2 powder. The anchored photocatalysts were prepared through the facile reaction between surface OH groups of Vycor glass and TiCl4. UV irradiation of the anchored catalyst at room temperature led to the photocatalytic degradation of 1-octanol and the production of 1-octanal as the major product. The large surface area of the photocatalyst was one of the most important factors in achieving a high efficiency in the liquid-phase photocatalytic reaction. The specific photocatalytic activity per unit weight of titanium oxide of the highly dispersed anchored catalyst was much higher than that for the TiO2 powder because of the high activity of the charge transfer complex (Ti3+-O-)*. Furthermore, the filtration of the anchored photocatalysts from the liquid reactants was much easier than that of the small particles Of TiO2 powder.