Anatase titanium dioxide nanocrystalline films with (0 0 1) preferred orientation were successfully grown on the industrial indium tin oxide conducting glass through induction of Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer of surfactant Triton X-100 at room temperature. The (0 0 1) oriented titanium dioxide nanocrystalline film with 1000 nm in thickness consists of 98% anatase phase and 2% rutile phase and gives an actual surface area of 50. Compared with that based on titanium dioxide polycrystalline with the same actual surface area and without the preferred orientation, a remarkable preference in energy conversion was observed for dye-sensitized solar cell based on (0 0 1) oriented titanium dioxide nanocrystalline. This is attributed to their differences in crystallinity and crystal orientation. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.