The hypothesis of increasing electron/hole separation and photocatalytic activity by elongating one dimension size of extremely small nanoparticles was verified. Comparable TiO₂ nanorods and nanodots were prepared using very similar hydrolysis processes in oleic acid. The oleic acid coating on the TiO₂ surface was removed using UV irradiation. The structure, surface and absorption properties of samples were characterized. Photoluminescence and photocatalytic activity of samples were evaluated semi-quantitatively. The experimental results proved that the nanorods did have more efficient electron/hole separation and higher photocatalytic activity than spherical nanodots.