In this study, we prepared a new visible light induced plasmonic photocatalyst Ag-AgCl-TiO2/rectorite using a facile deposition-photoreduction method. The catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible diffused reflectance spectra (UV-vis DRS), Raman spectra, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The as-prepared Ag-AgCl-TiO2/rectorite powders exhibited an efficient photocatalytic activity for the degradation of acid orange (ARG) and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) under visible light irradiation ( lambda > 400 nm). Moreover, the mechanism suggested that the high photocatalytic activity is due to the charge separation and the surface plasmon resonance of metallic Ag particles in the region of visible light. The active species measurements suggested that HO center dot is not the dominant photooxidant. Direct hole transfers and O-2(center dot-) were involved as the active species in the photocatalytic reaction. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.