Titanium dioxide inorganic core and polymer shell composite poly(methyl methacrylate-co-butylacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) [P(MMA-co-BA)-MAA] particles were prepared by emulsion copolymerization. Fourier transform IR (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to measure the content of MAA composite particles. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) characterized the composite particle size and size distribution. The field emission SEM (FE-SEM) results of the composite particles showed regular spherical shape and no bare TiO2 was detected on the whole surface of the samples. The composite particles were produced, showing good spectral reflectance compared with bare TiO2. TGA results indicated the encapsulation efficiency and estimated density of composite particles. Encapsulation efficiency was up to 78.9% and the density ranged from 1.76 to 1.94 g/cm(3). Estimated density of the composite particles is suitable to 1.73 g/cm(3), due to density matching with suspending media. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.