We investigate a new method for the synthesis of nanoscale titanium nitride via a molten-salt-mediated reduction route; the reaction was carried out at a temperature of 600-1100 degrees C for 1-7 h in a nitrogen atmosphere using TiO2 and Mg powders as starting materials. The effects of the TiO2/Mg mole ratio, reaction temperature, reaction time and salts on the formation of TiN were studied. The phase composition, morphological structure, and particle size of the TiN powder were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific-surface-area analysis. The results showed that the as-synthesized TiN crystals were approximately 5-30 nm in size and the specific surface areas of the TiN particles were 76.47-93.09 m(2)/g, higher than the 9.83 m(2)/g of the raw TiO2. A possible reaction mechanism for the formation of TiN powder in molten salt is proposed. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.