<p>A novel porous carbon coating with immobilized TiO₂ (FCIP) was prepared by using foam ceramics as support through dip-coating and low-temperature calcination process. Efficient catalytic degradation towards methylene blue (MB) removal and stable recycling performance over FCIP were achieved under ultraviolet (UV) and natural light without stirring. The porous carbon coating deriving from binder calcining played a significant role in immobilizing TiO₂ and enhancing its photosensitivity and the photocatalytic properties of the FCIP. The photocatalytic performance was improved by ca. 25% compared with the conventional immobilized TiO₂ under UV light. After ten-cycle regeneration, the degradation rate was retained nearly the same as that of the fresh FCIP sample, which indicated a satisfactory regeneration performance. In addition, the degradation rate of MB over FCIP increased with increasing reaction temperature. While the photocatalytic properties changed unremarkably with changing solution pH. The as-prepared FCIP could promisingly serve as an efficient photocatalyst towards MB removal by virtue of its low-cost, energy saving and highly recyclable properties.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>