A type of nitrogen and cerium co-doped titania photocatalyst, which could degrade nitrobenzene under visible light irradiation, was prepared by the sol-gel route. Titanium isopropoxide, ammonium nitrate, and cerium nitrate were used as the sources of titanium, nitrogen, and cerium, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffusive reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherm were employed to characterize the as-prepared photocatalyst. The degradation of nitrobenzene under visible light illumination was taken as probe reaction to evaluate the photoactivity of the co-doped photocatalyst. The commercial TiO2 photocatalyst (Degussa P25), which was thought as a high active photocatalyst, was chosen as standard photocatalyst to contrast the photoactivity of the nitrogen and cerium co-doped titania photocatalyst. The results showed that the photocatalytic performance of the nitrogen and cerium co-doped titania was related with the calcination temperature and the component. The nitrogen atoms were incorporated into the crystal of titania and could narrow the band gap energy. The doping cerium atoms existed in the forms of Ce2O3 and dispersed on the surface of TiO2. The improvement of the photocatalytic activity was ascribed to the synergistic effects of the nitrogen and cerium co-doping. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.