TiO2/SiO2/Fe3O4 composite was synthesized by sol-gel technique for silica and titania coatings on magnetite core to enable recovery after photocatalytic degradation. Carbon coating was also carried out by calcination of TiO2/SiO2/Fe3O4 under nitrogen atmosphere in presence of PVA as a source of carbon to enhance the adsorption of organic compounds on catalyst surface and to get better activity. All prepared samples were characterized using EDX, CN analyzer, XRD, BET and SEM. Degradation of methyl orange dye was used to assess the photocatalytic performance of the prepared samples. Calcination temperature was found to affect rate of reaction because of the formation of rutile phase at high calcination temperature. Carbon coated samples unexpectedly exhibited lower rate of reaction at almost all calcination temperatures. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.