This communication reports a novel idea on dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated using Gd-doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles with particle size between 26 and 30 nm. The effect of Gd-doping and smaller size of synthesized nanoparticles on the structural, morphological, optical and photo-electrochemical properties have been investigated. The high energy-conversion efficiency, 3.85%, has been achieved for 12% Gd-doped BiFeO3 DSSCs, which is more than 100% higher than the undoped BiFeO3. The possible origin of the observed performance of DSSCs has been explained on the basis of smaller size of the synthesized nanoparticles, doping of Gd and structural transformation with doping in BiFeO3. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.