Nanocrystalline TiO2 catalysts with different anatase/rutile ratios and high surface area (113-169 m(2)/g) have been prepared at low temperature by the microemulsion-mediated hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform (FT)-IR spectra, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption methods. The contents of anatase and rutile phases in the TiO2 powders have been successfully controlled by simply changing the proportion of Cl- and SO42- in the aqueous phase of the microemulsion. A proposed mechanism involving bidentately chelated sulfate is discussed to explain the variation of the crystalline phase in the TiO2 powder. The photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) in water has been investigated over titanium dioxide consisting of different anatase/rutile ratios. The catalyst containing 74.2% anatase showed the highest photocatalytic activity, which is due to a synergistic effect between anatase and rutile. The synergism was also found for the photodegradation of MO with physically mixed anatase and rutile as catalysts.