Cerium titanate nanorods have been prepared via a hydrothermal process using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the surfactant. The cerium titanate nanorods have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) diffuse reflectance spectrum. XRD shows that the nanorods are composed of CeTi21O38 phase. Electron microscopy observations indicate that the nanorods have good single crystalline nature. The diameter and length of the nanorods are about 50-200 nm and 1-2 mu m, respectively. Cerium titanate nanorods have a band gap of 2.65 eV. The photocatalytic activities of the nanorods have been investigated by degrading methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. MB solution with the concentration of 10 mg L-1 can be degraded totally with the irradiation time increasing to 240 min. Cerium titanate nanorods exhibit great potential in photocatalytic degradation of MB under visible light irradiation. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.