Polycrystalline nanoparticles with nominal composition Ti 1− x V x O 2 (0⩽x⩽0.16) have been synthesized by a sol–gel technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveals that the samples are pure anatase TiO 2 structure and no impurity phase is detected for the doping concentrations x⩽0.1. The lattice parameters a and c of the composites increase monotonously with the increase of V content, which indicates that V ions have been incorporated into the lattice of TiO 2 . Magnetic investigations indicate that Ti 1− x V x O 2 nanoparticles possess ferromagnetic ordering at both low temperature (10K) and room temperature (300K). Additionally, the temperature dependent susceptibility curves indicate the existence of strongly antiferromagnetic coupling between V magnetic ions.