© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Heterostructure Ag 3 VO 4 /Bi 2 MoO 6 nanocomposites were prepared by a hydrothermal-precipitation combination. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the formation of monoclinic Ag 3 VO 4 nanoparticles with the size of 7-12 nm adsorbed on orthorhombic Bi 2 MoO 6 nanoplates. The photocatalytic properties of pure Bi 2 MoO 6 , 1.0 wt% Ag 3 VO 4 /Bi 2 MoO 6 , 2.5 wt% Ag 3 VO 4 /Bi 2 MoO 6 , 5.0 wt% Ag 3 VO 4 /Bi 2 MoO 6 and 10.0 wt% Ag 3 VO 4 /Bi 2 MoO 6 photocatalysts were investigated through photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light for 100 min. In this research, the 10.0 wt% Ag 3 VO 4 /Bi 2 MoO 6 nanocomposites exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity under visible light. A possible photodegradation mechanism of RhB by Ag 3 VO 4 /Bi 2 MoO 6 nanocomposites was also proposed and discussed.