Mesoporous titania coatings (MTCs) with a pore size of 4.75 nm were prepared on Ti6Al4V substrates by a sol-gel process, and then irradiated with UV light at room temperature for 2 h. The effects of mesoporous structure and UV irradiation on the in vitro bioactivity were investigated. Simulated body fluid (SBF) tests reveal that the MTCs exhibit a high apatite-forming ability, which may be attributed to the following reasons: (i) the BET surface area of the MTCs is similar to 190 m(2)/g, resulting in a greater density of Ti-OH groups than that without mesoporous structure; (ii) theoretical analysis reveals that the mesoporous structure can improve the driving force and nucleation rate of apatite precipitation in SBF. As compared with the MTCs, the UV-irradiated coatings do not exhibit any change in phase components and surface morphologies. However, the apatite-forming ability is higher on the UV irradiation coatings than on the MTCs because of the increase of Ti-OH groups and the improvement of wettability after UV irradiation. In addition, the investigation of the MG63 cell proliferation on the both substrates was performed. The results indicate that the MTCs before and after UV irradiation exhibit a good biocompatibility and are fit for the MG63 cell proliferation. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.