The presence of pharmaceutical compound (i.e., acetaminophen) in aquatic environment has been declared as environmental issue since researchers found that it has potential risk to human health. Photocatalytic process as a promising method for waste degradation commonly employs titanium dioxide, TiO2. However, TiO2 has narrow light absorption and rapid charge recombination resulting in ineffective photocatalytic activity. In this study, silica � carbon quantum dots (Si-CQDs) from rice husk are decorated into TiO2 matrix through facile mixing approach to minimize the limitations of TiO2. Preliminary studies regarding TiO2 transformation and Si-CQDs incorporation in various amount were systematically investigated. It is observed that 1 wt is the optimum amount of Si-CQDs in composite in order to maximize the photocatalytic ability of TiO2. Under sunlight irradiation, 1 wt Si-CQDs/TiO2 composite is able to completely degrade 5 mg/L of acetaminophen within 240 min (33.3 faster than pure TiO2). The excellent performance of the composite is attributed to synergistic effect of Si-CQDs addition on TiO2 surface, which acted as photo sensitizer and electron trapper. Si-CQDs extend light absorption of TiO2 by reducing band gap energy from 3.20 to 3.12 eV, as confirmed by UV�vis Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) spectra. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra and N2 sorption isotherm reveal that Si-CQDs addition prolongs the lifetime of charge separation and improves surface area (17 larger than TiO2), respectively. The composite of Si-CQDs/TiO2 also demonstrates good stability which is beneficial for pharmaceutical waste removal in the future. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.