Rutile (TiO₂) is an important accessory mineral that, when present, offers a rich source of information about the rock units in which it is incorporated. It occurs in a variety of specific microstructural settings, contains significant amounts of several trace elements and is one of the classical minerals used for U–Pb age determination. Here, we focus on information obtainable from rutile in its original textural context. We do not present an exhaustive review on detrital rutile in clastic sediments, but note that an understanding of the petrochronology of rutile in its source rocks will aid interpretation of data obtained from detrital rutile. For further information on the important role of rutile in provenance studies, the reader is referred to previous reviews (e.g., Zack et al. 2004b; Meinhold 2010; Triebold et al. 2012). Coarse rutile is the only stable TiO₂ polymorph under all crustal and upper mantle conditions, with the exception of certain hydrothermal environments (Smith et al. 2009). As such, we will focus on rutile rather than the polymorphs brookite, anatase and ultrahigh-pressure modifications.

In this chapter, we first review rutile occurrences, trace element geochemistry, and U–Pb geochronology individually to illustrate the insights that can be gained from microstructures, chemistry and ages. Then, in the spirit of petrochronology, we show the interpretational power of combining these approaches, using the Ivrea Zone (Italy) as a case study. Finally, we suggest some areas of future research that would improve petrochronologic research using rutile.