Visible light photocatalytic activity of amorphous TiO2 doped with carbon is prepared by a facile sol-gel route for the first time. The most active sample with mesostructure of amorphous phase, high surface area (273 m(2) g(-1)) and large pore volume (0.33 cm(3) g(-1)) is identified by X-ray diffractometer, Raman spectrometer, transmission electron microscope and N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. In addition, the most active sample is characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrometer and luminescence spectrometer. The results show that the most active sample with oxygenic groups has a narrower bandgap and lower recombination of electron-hole, due to the carbon doping and phase of amorphous. Effective photodegradation capability and stability of rhodamine B and colorless 4-chlorophenol are verified by photocatalytic tests under visible light irradiation. A possible mechanism of amorphous TiO2 doped with carbon for visible light photocatalysis is proposed. The findings of this paper will provide new insights to design visible lightinduced photocatalyst based on amorphous TiO2 for organic removal. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.