Nitrogen-doped TiO2 nanotubes with enhanced photocatalytic activity were synthesized using titanate nanotubes as raw material by a facile wet chemistry method. The resulting nanotubes were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, etc. The photocatalytic activity of nitrogen-doped TiO2 nanotubes was evaluated by the decomposition of methylene blue under artificial solar light. And it was found that nitrogen-doped TiO2 nanotubes exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than undoped titanate nanotubes. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.