Ethanol is a prototype molecule used in probing catalytic reactivity of oxide catalysts such as $TiO_2$. In the present study, we adsorbed ethanol on $TiO_2$(001) at room temperature (RT) and the corresponding bonding state of ethanol was systematically studied by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) using synchrotron radiation. Especially, we compared $TiO_2$(001) surfaces prepared in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) with different surface treatments such as $Ar^+$-sputtering and oxidation with molecular $O_2$, respectively. We find that the saturation coverage of ethanol at RT varies depending on the amount of reduced surface defects (e.g., $Ti^{3+}$) which are introduced by $Ar^+$-sputtering. We also find that the oxidized $TiO_2$(001) surface has other type of surface defects (not related to Ti 3d state) which can dissociate ethanol for further reaction above 600 K. Our C 1s core level spectra indicate clearly resolved features for the two chemically distinct carbon atoms from ethanol adsorbed on $TiO_2$(001), showing the adsorption of ethanol proceeds without C-C bond dissociation. No other C 1s feature for a possible oxidized intermediate was observed up to the substrate temperature of 650 K.