Carbon and boron co-doped TiO2 photocatalysts were prepared firstly by the gel-hydrothermal method, that is, synthesized through sol-gel process followed by hydrothermal in the glucose solution. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, Raman spectra, TEM, N-2 physical adsorption, XPS, and UV-vis absorption spectra. It was found that the co-doped TiO2 has a larger BET surface areas and a narrower band gap than undoped TiO2. The experimental results show that the coke carbon generated on the carbon doped TiO2 surface act as a photosensitizer and has the photosensitization effect under the visible light. Except for carbon sensitization effect, the boron and carbon co-doped TiO2 has synergistic effect which is responsible for effective photo-degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol in the visible light irradiation. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.