In the field of nanotechnology, titanium dioxide nanotubes (TiO₂ NTs) are one of the most valued inventions. They were discovered in 1996, and have since been used in several fields including photocatalytic degradation of pollutants, hydrogen production, and dye-sensitized solar cells. This review provides a comprehensive overview of TiO₂ NTs and their synthesis methods, highlighting recent progress and modifications that improve their properties. The influence of anodization parameters, the effect of annealing temperature, and modified TiO₂ NT arrays, including doping and heterostructure were discussed also in detail. In addition, this article summarizes some of the recent advances in the applications of TiO₂ nanotubes in photocatalysis, hydrogen production, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), and the detection of heavy metal ions. Finally, the existing problems and further prospects of this renascent and rapidly developing field are also briefly addressed.