Pure and cerium-doped [0.05, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 Ce nominal atomic % (at.%)] TiO₂ was synthesized by the sol–gel method. The obtained catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–visible diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Raman, and BET surface area measurement. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized samples for the oxidative degradation of phenol in aqueous suspension was investigated. The content of Ce in the catalysts increases both the transition temperature for anatase to rutile phase transformation and the specific surface area, and decreases the crystallite size of anatase phase, the crystallinity, and the band gap energy value. The material with higher efficiency corresponds to 0.1 Ce nominal at.%. Under irradiation with 350 nm lamps, the degradation of phenol could be described as an exponential trend, with an apparent rate constant of (9.1 ± 0.6) 10⁻³ s⁻¹ (r² = 0.98). Hydroquinone was identified as the main intermediate.Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y AplicadasCentro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas