The alkalinity of hydrothermal solution was proved to have significant effects on the formation of lead titanate nanotube arrays. Using anodic TiO 2 nanotube arrays as templates, lead titanate (PbTiO 3 ) nanotube arrays were obtained by in situ hydrothermal synthesis in an alkali‐free solution. The addition of KOH in hydrothermal solutions induced a dissolution–precipitation process, which resulted in the formation of cubic PbTiO 3 particles instead of nanotubes. Compared with bulks, the nanotubular structure in PbTiO 3 nanotube arrays is responsible for the differences in the Raman spectra for different specimens.