Carbon nanotubes-based TiO2 composites were fabricated by hydrolysis, and the transmission electron microscopy(TEM) results showed that carbon nanotubes were partly coated with TiO2. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results of purified carbon nanotubes indicated that there were some polar oxygenated groups such as C-O, C=O and O-C=O which might stimulate formation of the composites, and enhance the interfacial combination of TiO2 with carbon nanotubes. The formation of TiO2 and its compounding with CNTs happened almost simultaneously in this process. The method is a convenient route to fabricate CNTs-based TiO2 composites with different ratios. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.