Photoluntinescence combined with diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy was used to characterise both the pure siliceous MCM-41 and Ti-MCM-41 containing tetrahedral Ti(IV) species anchored onto the inner walls of the siliceous MCM-41. Both Ti-MCM-41 and MCM-41 showed complex photoemission signals and this study allows, for the first time, the distinction of the emission signals of tetrahedral Ti(IV) ions from those due to silica surface centres.