N-doped TiO2 film with preferred (211) orientation, deposited by RF magnetron sputtering, was investigated for the water-splitting hydrogen production. It is found that the preferred crystal growth orientation of the films can be controlled by N-2 flow rate during the deposition. The results reveal that not only the N-doping, but also the preferred orientation (i.e., large percentage of exposed (211) facet), can effectively enhance the activity of TiO2-based photocatalyst. With the increase of exposed (211) facets, the hydrogen production rates of N-doped TiO2 films rise from 760 mu mol H-2 h(-1) m(-2) to 4500 mu mol H-2 h(-1) m(-2), indicating that high performance of TiO2-based photocatalyst can be achieved by controlling the preferred orientation of the films. Copyright (C) 2013, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.