This disclosure relates to a process for producing titanium dioxide, comprising: a) providing a quantity of liquid titanium tetrahalide for reacting with an oxygen-containing gas; b) vaporizing a first portion of the liquid titanium tetrahalide and reacting the titanium tetrahalide vapor and the oxygen-containing gas, in a first stage of a reaction zone, the reaction zone temperature ranging from at least about 650° C.—to form a reaction product at least containing titanium dioxide and oxygen-containing gas and passing the reaction product, more typically in the vapor phase, to at least one additional stage of the reaction zone; and c) charging at least one additional portion of the liquid titanium tetrahalide to the at least one additional stage of the reaction zone to cool the titanium dioxide and to react with the oxygen-containing gas to form additional titanium dioxide. This process results in a high conversion to titanium dioxide and formation of titanium dioxide powders having improved particle size and size distribution.