Au/N–TiO₂ composites are successfully synthesized via a modified sol–gel method and their photocatalytic performance in reduction of Cr(VI) is investigated. Au/N–TiO₂ composites exhibit an enhanced photocatalytic performance in the reduction of Cr(VI) with a maximum reduction rate of 90% under visible light irradiation as compared with pure TiO₂ (34%) and N–TiO₂ (80%) due to the increase of light absorption intensity and range as well as the reduction of electron–hole pair recombination in TiO₂ with the incorporation of N and Au.