Thin titanium oxide nanoribbons with a thickness of several nanometers and a width of 30-200 nm have been synthesized hydrothermally via the reaction of TiO2 particles and NaOH solution. Either amorphous TiO2 gel or crystalline anatase or a mixture of anatase and rutile can be used as the raw material. The typical lengths of nanoribbons are in the range of several micrometers to several tens of micrometers. The growth of nanoribbons is along the [0 0 1] direction of the anatase structure. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.