The objective of the current work was to investigate the performance of a carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified by TiO2 for the analytical detection of trace lead (II) in drinking water by square wave voltammetry. The results showed that TiO2 plays an important role in the accumulation process of Pb (II) on the modified electrode surface. The electroanalytical procedure employed for the determination of Pb (II) comprised two steps: chemical accumulation of the analyte under open-circuit conditions, followed by the electrochemical detection of the pre-concentrated species using square wave voltammetry. The analytical performance of this system has been explored by studying the effects of preconcentration time, potential scan rates and various concentrations of lead ions, as well as interferences due to other ions. The determined detection and quantification limits were 4.5 x 10(-8) M and 9.5 x 10(-5) M. The reproducibility for three replicate measurements at 25 mu M lead level was 4.4%. The results indicated that this electrode is sensitive and effective for the determination of Pb2+. (C) 2015 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.