Lanthanum and boron co-doped TiO2(La-B-TiO2) was successfully prepared by modified sol-gel method aiming at enhancing the visible-light photocatalytic performance by improving the quantum efficiency of the photocatalytic reaction and extending the absorption in the visible-light region. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by different techniques. The results indicated that boron doping could narrow the band gap of titania, and lanthanum doping could suppress the phase transformation and hinder the crystallization of titania. In addition, lanthanum doping could not only increase the adsorption of organic pollutants on the surface of catalyst, but also improve the separation of photogenerated holes and electrons and consequently promote the formation of hydroxyl radicals. The photocatalytic activities of the series samples were evaluated for degradation of Acid Orange 7 (AO7). Compared with the lanthanum doped TiO2 and boron doped TiO2 samples, the 1%La-B-TiO2 photocatalyst exhibited outstanding visible-light activity and it was found that there would be synergistic effects of lanthanum and boron, which was responsible for improving the photocatalytic activity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.