A microporous titanosilicate (TS-1) catalyst was synthesised from an amorphous titanosilicate precursor, and both the amorphous precursor and TS-1 were characterised by Ti K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy which revealed that Ti (IV) ions are in tetrahedral coordination in the calcined state. Each of these solids is catalytically active for the conversion of cyclohexene to cyclohexene oxide in the presence of H2O2. Use of urea-H2O2 adduct as oxidant increased the activity and selectivity for the formation of the epoxide with TS-1 as catalyst. However, a significant loss in catalytic activity is seen for the amorphous precursor.