Nitrogen doped anatase TiO2 powders (N-TiO2) were sensitized by four kinds of metalloporphyrins (CoTHPP, CoTPP, NiTHPP, and NiTPP). The resulting materials were characterized by XRD, TEM, XPS, DRS and N-2 adsorption. The results showed that the crystal structure and morphology of N-TiO2 were not affected by the existence of porphyrin on its surface, but the surface area increased after the N-TiO2 sensitized by metalloporphyrins. The photocatalytic degradation of methyl blue (MB) experiments showed that the metalporphyrins sensitized N-TiO2 composite catalysts, especially the CoTHPP/N-TiO2 and CoTPP/N-TiO2, exhibited higher degradation efficiency than the unsentisized N-TiO2 powders. In addition, the photocatalytic degradations of MB using the composite catalysts were all demonstrated to follow first-order kinetic model. The composite catalysts can be recycled four times without significant loss of photocatalytic activity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.