A specially tailored index TiO2 compact layer (arc-TiO2) has been successfully deposited to serve as photoanode of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The employment of the TiO2 compact layer in the DSSC was systematically investigated by means of UV-absorption spectra, incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE), open-circuit voltage decay (OCVD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The higher and red-shifted transmittance spectra of the ITO/arc-TiO2 electrode mimic the IPCE spectra of the DSSC, in a specific wavelength region. Furthermore, the blue-shift of the UV-absorption spectra and lower R-1 value obtained from EIS measurements implied the decrease of the charge interfacial resistance, and this consequently facilitates the charge transport from the nanocrystalline-TiO2 to the ITO. The integrated effects of the arc-TiO2 compact layer originate the remarkable improvement in this type of DSSC applications. As a result, the arc-TiO2-based DSSC showed higher conversion efficiency of about 4.38%, representing almost 53% increment compared to bare ITO cell. This work also discuss the fundamental insight of the compact layer that determines the origin of such improvement in the DSSC performance. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.