•The N-doped TiO 2 film with a narrow band gap of 2.65eV was facilely fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering.•The N-doped TiO 2 film shows a large percentage of exposed high energy facets, which is beneficial to the high photocatalytic activity of the film.•Efficient hydrogen production was achieved by using N-doped TiO 2 film as photocatalyst without the assistance of metal cathode, bias, or loading noble metal.•The H 2 production rate of the N-doped TiO 2 film is far higher than that of the undoped TiO 2 film, and even about 50 times higher than that of dispersive P25 powder.