Columnar-structured rutile TiO2 film with a thickness of 1.4 mu m is prepared using the radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique, for application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Pure rutile TiO2 films are fabricated by controlling the substrate temperature during sputtering and using a substrate with a rough surface morphology. Successive substrate heating to 623 K induces the growth of a rutile TiO2 film that has a specific direction in the (I 10) plane, which results in a decrease in the average grain size. This causes in an increase of dye uptake and thereby contributes to enhancement of the photocurrent in the DSSC. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.