Over the past few years, many efforts have been made to develop efficient visible light-activated photovoltaic materials. In this study, the Ag-TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by using the hydro thermal method. Ag-TiO2 nanoparticles showed significantly higher visible light absorption and better photovoltaic activity than anatase TiO2. TiO2 nanoparticles were decorated with different concentrations of Ag to improve their photovoltaic properties. All the as-prepared TiO2 and Ag-TiO2 nanoparticles showed a pure anatase crystalline structure. In addition, the Ag-doped nanoparticles showed broader absorption edges (which shifted to higher wavelengths) than the undoped nanoparticles. The solar conversion efficiency (eta) of 0.1M Ag-decorated (Ag-0.1-TiO2) nanoparticle-based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was 6.44%, which is similar to 22% higher than that of the TiO2 nanoparticle-based DSSC (eta of 5.05%). (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.