Abstract: Wood surface was modified by nona-TiO₂ coating via sol-gel process at room temperature, followed by low surface energy treatment with stearic acid in order to transform the wood surface from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. In the meanwhile, the photostability of wood was also improved due to excellent UV-shielding property of nano-TiO₂. The surface morphology, structure and chemistry of the treated wood were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis(EDX), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR). The hydrophobicity and anti-photodiscoloration performance of treated wood were tested. The results showed that the TiO₂ nanoparticles were successfully introduced onto the wood surface, and the long-chain alkyl groups of stearic acid were grafted to provide hydrophobicity. The water contact angles of the treated wood were improved remarkably to approximately 130° displaying high hydrophobicity. The nano-TiO₂ films also improved the anti-photodiscoloration performance of wood remarkably. The overall color change(ΔE*)of the wood samples treated with 5% TiO₂ sol, was only 45% of the corresponding value of the control samples after 120 h artificial accelerated weathering.