[en] Herein, a TiO₂ nanoparticle/nanorod composite architecture was suggested for improving performance of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs), which was fabricated on transparent conductive glass substrates (FTO) via hydrothermal method followed by spin-coating, and further used as photoanode of QDSSCs. Compared with the TiO₂ nanorod photoanode, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the QDSSCs with this architecture was obviously improved. The champion efficiency of 4.42% was achieved, showing a 33.5% enhancement in PCE. The improved PCE mainly resulted from the increase of J_sc, which increased from 9.80 (nanorod architecture) to 15.48 mA/cm² (nanoparticle/nanorod composite architecture). The advantages of the composite structure photoanode consist in the superior light scattering capability, faster electron transport and increased photogenerated electron concentration. - Graphical abstract: In this paper, a TiO₂ nanoparticle/nanorod architecture electrode termed as P/R was fabricated and applied as photoanode of QDSSCs. The P/R composite architecture electrodes showed improved photovoltaic performance compared to single crystal TiO₂ nanorod arrays. The champion efficiency of 4.42% has been achieved. - Highlights: • A TiO₂ nanoparticle/nanorod composite architecture was prepared for QDSSCs. • A suitable thickness of TiO₂ nanoparticle layer can enhance PCE effectively. • The highly improved PCE can be mainly attributed to the increase of J_sc.