Mild hydrothermal process called "wet corrosion process" was developed for the synthesis of TiO2 nanowires from Ti plate. The structural change during the process was observed by using SEM and TEM, and the crystal structure of the prepared TiO2 nanowires was confirmed by XRD. The photocatalytic activity of was demonstrated by using the chromogenic change as well as the intermediate formation of methylene blue molecule. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.