Nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2-xNx) thin films have been prepared by pulse laser deposition on quartz glass substrates by ablated titanium dioxide ( rutile) target in nitrogen atmosphere. The x value ( nitrogen concentration) is 0.567 as determined by X- ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. UV-vis spectroscopy measurements revealed two characteristic deep levels located at 1.0 and 2.5 eV below the conduction band. The 1.0 eV level is attributable to the O vacancy state and the 2.5 eV level is introduced by N doping, which contributes to narrowing the band-gap by mixing with the O2p valence band. The enhanced degradation efficiency in a broad visible-light range was observed from the degradation of methylene blue and methylene orange by the TiO2-xNx film. (c) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.