As next generation solar cells, dye-sensitized TiO(2) solar cells attract many scientists' attention throughout the world. Although currently there are no commercially available products on the market, construction of large modules and long-term stability tests have been carried out by many companies and laboratories worldwide; commercialized DSC products may be appearing in the near future. Improving DSC performance and long-term stability is a great challenge not only to the academic research but also for industrial applications. Here the interface molecular engineering principle is proposed as the main strategy to meet this challenge in view of recent progress in this domain. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.