A titania thin film was fixed on a glass plate (200 mm in length, 25 mm in width and 2 mm in thickness) at a preparation temperature of 423 K, following the hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthotitanate. Photocatalytic sterilization of Escherichia coli was conducted using the prepared titania thin film. The sterilization rate increased with the increase in amount of fixed titania ranging from 0 to 1.2x10(-3) kg/m(2). The apparent sterilization rate constant was determined by applying a series-event model to experimental data. A linear relation was observed between the determined rate constant and the quantity of light absorbed by the titania thin film in the range of 0 to 1.0 J/min.