Powders of porous titanium dioxide doped with iron (III) ions having several iron contents were synthesized, and an ilmenite as source of iron and titanium was used. The synthesis was directly performed starting from a natural ilmenite under conditions (temperature and acid concentrations) softer than those frequently used throughout the sulfate process. The powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption at 77 K and Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) in diffuse reflectance mode. A unique crystalline phase (anatase structure) was identified in the new obtained solids. All the synthesized powders showed an important shift for the band gap energy to the visible region. This energy value was decreased by increasing the iron content in the solids. The results obtained confirm that the synthesis pathway was successful to produce iron(III)-doped titanium dioxide with potential properties to be used as a photocatalyst. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.