A series of titania samples with different loadings of silica (0.5-10 wt.%) has been prepared by wet impregnation method. The presence of Ti-O-Si linkage for all silica loadings has been confirmed by DRIFT spectra. High dispersion of silica in the titania matrix and the bonding of Ti-O-Si in silica-titania samples are found to inhibit the transformation of amorphous to anatase titania. The UV-vis/DRS show an increase in UV and visible light absorbance for 7.5 wt.% silica calcined at 500 °C. Evaluation of photocatalytic activity of the samples for the decomposition of 4-chlorophenol shows greater activity for samples modified with silica with an optimal loading of 7.5 wt.% silica calcined at 500 °C. Conversion of 90 % and 35 % of 4-chlorophenol for UV-visible and visible light respectively is observed. Photocatalytic activity of the silica-titania samples is found to decrease with increasing crystallinity.