In the present study, the biosynthesis of rutile TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) was achieved by a novel, biodegradable and convenient procedure using fruit peel Annona squamosa aqueous extract. This is the first report on the new, simple, rapid, eco-friendly and cheaper methods for the synthesis of rutile TiO2 NPs at lower temperature using agricultural waste. Rutile TiO2 NPs were characterized by UV, XRD, SEM, TEM and EDS studies. The UV-Vis spectrophotometer results were promising and showed a rapid production of TiO2 NPs with a surface plasmon resonance occurring at 284 nm. The formation of the TiO2 NPs as observed from the XRD spectrum is confirmed to be TiO2 particles in the rutile form as evidenced by the peaks at 2θ = 27.42°, 36.10°, 41.30° and 54.33° when compared with the literature. The TEM images showed polydisperse nanoparticles with spherical shapes and size 23 ± 2 nm ranges. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.