A novel visible light driven tourmaline-nitrogen-doped-TiO2 composite (S-N-TiO2) was prepared using a facile impregnation and sol gel method and its photocatalytic reaction scheme with ethylene was proposed. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the presence of TiO2 in the form of anatase phase. Scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer mapping showed that the TiO2 particles were deposited and dispersed on the surface of tourmaline. Under visible light irradiation, the S-N-TiO2 catalyst containing 4wt.% tourmaline has higher photocatalytic activity for the oxidation of ethylene than pure TiO2 and N-doped-TiO2 (N-TiO2). This enhanced activity could be not only attributed to the narrowed band gap in visible light driven N-TiO2, but also improved by the spontaneous electric field of tourmaline which was applied to restrain the recombination of the electron–hole pairs. The photogenerated electrons from N-TiO2 were induced by electric field to react with ethylene, and the leaving photogenerated holes also formed the reactive species. The photocatalytic activity of S-N-TiO2 is much affected by synthesis conditions. This novel S-N-TiO2 photocatalyst has a promising perspective in the gas treatment for air pollution control and horticultural product industries.