We present effects of an amorphous TiOx layer formation on the behavior of a unipolar resistive switching memory device, which consists of Pt/Ti embedding layer (Ti-EL)/Dy2O3/Pt structure. The better properties have been obtained from the Pt/Ti-EL/Dy2O3/Pt system, including lower switching voltage, higher switching uniformity, and better endurance, besides, a reversed set/reset process is observed, in comparison with Pt/Dy2O3/Pt device. It is considered that the spontaneous formation of an amorphous TiOx layer and Ti-Pt-O nano-crystal clusters from Ti layer between Pt top electrode and Dy2O3 film is the main factor for the improvement of unipolar resistive switching behavior. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.