Herein, a continuous-flow-mode photocatalytic disinfection device with the capacity of 1 m(3)/h was presented. The core reactor of the photocatalytic device was structured by installing a TiO2 (Degussa P25) coated helical support around a UV lamp into an annular reactor. This photocatalytic device exhibited superior disinfection capability to UV technology. After 2.42 x 10(6) CFU/L of Escherichia coli (E. coli) suspension flowed through the photocatalytic device, 3.05 log(10) reduction of E. coli was removed, while only 2.57 log(10) reduction of E. coli was removed by UV disinfection device. The residual E. coli in the effluent decreased to only 2.16 x 10(3) CFU/L for photocatalytic device, which was distinctly lower than 6.44 x 10(3) CFU/L for UV disinfection process. Photocatalytic disinfection also displayed prominent ability in restraining E. coli reactivation. After 24 h of preservation, concentration of E. coli in effluent for UV process was found as 1.20 x 10(4) CFU/L (0.74 log(10) of increase), 16 times less than 1.99 x 10(6) CFU/L (1.49 log(10) of increase) of UV process. Moreover, the photocatalytic device exhibited high endurance to flux fluctuation and E. coli concentration change. These results demonstrated an access of applying photocatalytic technology to applying for disinfection of wastewater. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.