Titanium silicalite-1 (TS-1) was synthesized in the presence of small amount of TPAOH using Tween 20, as nonionic surfactant. The procedure gives highly pure nanometer-sized homogeneous crystalline product and higher rate of crystallization. The results are compared with the TS-1 sample prepared without surfactant. Characterization of TS-1 has been carried out by using X-ray diffraction and shows that the samples are fully crystalline. while FTIR spectroscopy shows the presence of characteristic band for TS-1 at 960 cm(-1), confirming Si-O-Ti linkages present in the product. The UV-visible spectroscopy of the sample prepared without surfactant at low TPAOH concentration shows the presence of extra framework of TiO2 species. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the sample shows homogeneous particle size (similar to 150 nm). while the sample without surfactant shows the presence of particle size ranging between 150 and 200 mu. Catalytic activity of TS-1 sample was also confirmed for octene epoxidation. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.