Titania films were deposited from sols peptized in acidic conditions and subsequently autoclaved. The microstructural, morphological, optical, and photocatalytic properties of titania films were studied with respect to sol-gel processing parameters. It is shown that films deposited at room temperature are well-crystallized and exhibit good optical quality. Their photocatalytic activity was verified through malic acid decomposition tests. From comparisons with a previous work, processing the sol in acidic conditions is found to be more advantageous than in basic conditions. Using this low temperature approach, titania films could be deposited on thermally sensitive polymer substrates for new photocatalytic applications. (C) 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers.