An environmentally benign synthesis method was used to prepare a nearly uniform dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles modified by bismuth for photocatalytic purposes. The role of bismuth in the catalyst structure was evaluated using numerous methods such as XRPD, HTXRPD, TEM and HRTEM, and XPS, as well as Raman, FTIR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The bismuth doping significantly improved the photocatalytic performance of azo dye RB5 discoloration due to the formation of surface Bi3+ species and the abundant hydroxylation of the catalyst surface. The great advantage of this procedure lies in the low temperature preparation under ambient pressure without use of the titanium organometallic precursors. Therefore, this developed synthesis procedure could be easily adapted to the industrial scale.