The disclosure pertains to a process for making a suspension of finely divided titanium (IV) oxide particles, comprising: vigorously mixing (a) a volume of a first component comprising a major proportion of an alcohol, a minor proportion of a titanium alkoxide and a minor proportion of a titanium alkoxide activator selected from the group consisting of water and a first aqueous base, and (b) a volume of a second component selected from the group consisting of water and a second aqueous base, at least one of the first component or the second component having a base therein, the second component being substantially free of alcohol, to form a mixture comprising a suspension of finely divided titanium (IV) oxide particles, the mixture having a water to titanium molar ratio ranging from about 40 to about 1 to about 5000 to about 1, wherein the proportion of the titanium alkoxide, the proportion of the activator, the mixing vigor, and a ratio of the volume of the first component to the volume of the second component are effective for the suspension of the finely divided particles to form in the mixture. The suspensions can be dried to recover a powder. Typically the particles are nanoparticles.