The Bi2O2CO3/Bi3NbO7 (BiCO/BiNbO) composite was successfully fabricated by a simple hydrothermal method and found to be an effective visible-light-driven photocatalyst for inactivation of Escherichia coil (E. coil). The BiCO/BiNbO composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (UV-vis DRS), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The BiCO/BiNbO composite exhibited largely enhanced photocatalytic inactivation of E. coli as compared to the pure Bi3NbO7 under visible light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic performance can be attributed to the improved separation efficiency of the photogenerated holes and electrons. In addition, the possible bactericidal mechanism of the BiCO/BiNbO composite under visible light irradiation was discussed. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.