TiO2 nanoparticles were self-assembled on three different dimensional nanocarbon (SWCNT, C-60 and graphene) surfaces by a uniform thermal reaction. The effective anchoring of TiO2 nanoparticles on the nanocarbon surfaces was characterized by FTeIR, XRD, XPS, TEM, Raman spectroscopy, PL and UV-Vis. By investigating the effect of different carbon nanostructures on TiO2 photocatalyst system, we found that the enhancing photocatalytic activities of nanocarbon/TiO2 (NT) nanocomposites have still related to great adsorbability and effective charge transfer by nanocarbon introduced, however, no more insights can be provided for peculiar properties on different nanostructures, although graphene by itself has an excellent structure and morphology. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.