Titania particles modified with an extremely small amount (<0.01 mol%) of a rhodium species exhibited photocatalytic activity for the oxidative decomposition of acetaldehyde in air under visible-light irradiation. The reaction proceeded via a two-photon band-gap excitation mechanism resembling the Z-scheme with an external redox couple, using a built-in Rh(iii)-Rh(iv) redox couple.