A series of sculptured porous nano-columnar titanium oxide films were prepared by glancing angle deposition (GLAD) method using an electron-beam evaporation system. The films were deposited on ITO glasses at various incident angles from 53 degrees to 86 degrees and used as photoanode in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The as-deposited TiO(2) films are comprised of helical nano-columns and assembled in an orderly manner with gaps or pores in between. The porous nanostructured films provide a synergetic effect of high surface area, effective route for electron transfer, tight interfaces, and enhanced light trapping, which are all beneficial for higher cell efficiency. The DSSCs incorporated with the GLAD films of 4 mu m thick exhibited a high fill factor(FF) up to 0.77. The TiO(2) film deposited at an incident angle of 73 degrees provides the largest internal surface area and the largest amount of dye absorption and results in the highest light conversion efficiency of 2.78%. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.