Titanium dioxide decorated silica nanospheres have been synthesized by a simple wet chemical approach. X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis revealed that anatase phase of TiO2 nanostructures, with exposed {0 0 1} and {1 0 1} facets, are anchored onto the amorphous silica spheres of similar to 60 nm diameter. The photocatalytic activity of the sample under visible light irradiation was examined. It is found that photocatalytic efficiency of the material is better than commercial P25 TiO2 photocatalyst and the result is attributed to the unique synergistic effect of SiO2-TiO2 nanocomposite structure resulting enhanced charge separation and charge transfer. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.