In this study, pure TiO2 (V-TiO2-0) and V-doped TiO2 (V-TiO2-x, x = 1-10 mol%) were synthesized using a new sol-gel method. The adsorption capacity of the V-TiO2-x samples was evaluated by measuring the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution via decolorization. Since the adsorption capacity was affected by the specific surface area, the interaction between adsorbate (MB) and adsorbent (V-TiO2-x), and the structure of the adsorbent, the physicochemical properties of the samples were investigated. Among the V-doped TiO2-x samples, the V-TiO2-10 sample showed the highest adsorption capacity, which was 11.36 times greater than that of pure TiO2, removing 85.2% of the MB after 2 h. Moreover, changing the molar ratio of the reactants in the V-TiO2-10 sample improved the performance of the material so that 91.6% of the MB was removed after 2 h. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.