Numerous vanadium−titania composites have drawn significant interest as efficient photocatalysts for the photocatalytic oxidation of alcohols into valuable aldehydes or C−C coupling compound intermediates. In this comparative study, the photocatalytic potential of two conformations of vanadium− titania catalysts was analyzed, including a vanadium−titania solid solution of VTiO x and vanadium oxide supported on titania VO x / TiO 2 . The distinct structural interfaces among the components of these catalysts resulted in notably divergent catalytic performances. The VTiO x catalyst is superior to the corresponding supported VO x /TiO 2 catalysts in the photo-oxidation of benzyl alcohol. The vanadium incorporated into the titania lattice influences surface oxygen vacancy defects, examined by a series of technologies, thus distinctly improving the photocatalytic activity. The experimental phenomena supported with density functional theory (DFT) studies indicate that incorporating V into the TiO 2 lattice can effectively lower the activation energy for the lattice oxygen, thereby improving the generation and repair of oxygen vacancies and thus promoting photo-oxidation.