A Ce-doped nano-TiO2 film electrode was synthesized by the sol gel method. The structural, morphological and electrocatalytic activity of as-prepared TiO2 films on titanium substrate surface were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Electrocatalytic properties were evaluated by studying the electroreduction of maleic acid (MA) on the Ce nano-TiO2 film electrodes in sulfuric acid solutions. The results demonstrated that the optimum molar ratio of Ce:Ti was 0.003:1. The Ce nano-TiO2 electrode showed a higher electrocatalytic activity (4.5 times higher peak current) than the undoped nano-TiO2 electrode, which resulted in a high yield of succinic acid (SA) (98%) and a high current efficiency (91%) in the galvanostatic preparative reduction. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.