Abstarct: Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have a great potential as alternative photovoltaic devices for silicon and CIGS solar cells due to their low cost and easy fabrication. However, relatively low efficiency has been a drawback for successful commercialization of DSSCs. In this thesis, with the aim of improving the effect of photoanode on the dye sensitized solar cell efficiency, titanium oxide nanoparticles and titanium oxide / tin oxide nanocomposites were synthesized using hydrothermal technique. Structural, elemental composition, surface morphological and optical properties of synthesized samples were studied using XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, EDAX, FESEM, TEM and UV-Vis analysis techniques. The pastes of prepared nanoparticles were synthesized using liquid polyester and baxsed on them solar cell devices were fabricated. The fabricated cells were then characterized using solar simulator. X-ray diffraction pattern showed the formation of crystal structure in the main phase of anatase for TiO_2 samples and Raman and FTIR spectra confirmed this result. FESEM images showed the formation of TiO_2 nanospheres and the efficiency of the fabricated cell was obtained to be about 5.39 %. In order to further investigating the effect of photoanode on DSSCs performance, TiO_2/SnO_2 nanocomposites were synthesized using hydrothermal method at 200 °C, in two different process times of 12 and 20 hours and at different amounts of Sn. For samples prepared at the process time of 12 h (D1 – D4) no improvement in cell efficiency was observed. Investigations revealed that for the formation of TiO_2/SnO_2 nanocomposites there should be a threshold for the hydrothermal process time. Hence, samples (C1 – C4) were synthesized at longer process time of 20 hrs. XRD patterns revealed the formation of SnO_2 peaks in the composite and Raman spectra confirmed it. The best efficiency between cells fabricated using nanocomposites was obtained to be about 5.21 % which is very close to the cell fabricated using TiO_2.