The silver-doped titanium dioxide (Ag-TiO2) photocatalysts with varied silver content ranging from 0.75 at % to 3.5 at % were synthesized by a single-step sol-gel method. The role of silver content on the properties of photocatalyst has been studied. The doping of 0.75 at % silver in TiO2 produced thermally stable TiO2 anatase phase with smallest particle size, uniform particles size and morphology, high surface area and low-energy excitation characteristics. The Ag-TiO2 sample with 0.75 at % silver possesses predominantly finely dispersed silver species (Ag2O and AgO) on the surface. The proportion of surface agglomerated silver metal (Ag-0) increases as the silver content in the Ag-TiO2 sample increases. The silver oxide species were observed to be responsible for better physicochemical and catalytic properties. The TiO2 with 0.75 at % silver was found to be an efficient photocatalyst showing enhanced photocatalytic activity for aqueous medium photocatalytic degradation of phthalic acid in the presence of UV radiation and air.