A titanium dioxide powder has excellent red light-selective transmission function while maintaining hiding power. A cosmetic formulated therewith provides a natural finish and makes skin irregularities (pores) inconspicuous while having good covering properties. A titanium dioxide powder is obtained by firing titanium dioxide having acicular projections on the particle surface at 500-800° C. The titanium dioxide powder for the cosmetic is characterized by an apparent average particle size is 100-500 nm, an average crystallite size measured by X-ray diffraction is 15-30 nm, and a specific surface area is 10-30 m2/g.