By deposition of Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) onto BiOCl (BOC) nanosheet with different facets, in the reaction of decomposing Orange II, we systematically investigated the preferred transfer orientation (PTO) of photo-generated electron-hole pairs in BOC under UV light irradiation. Also, the active oxidative intermediates during the degradation process were also studied. Moreover, the Au NPs successfully brought about visible light response to the wide gap BOC, while the exposed different facets were found to be influential on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect. The present work may contribute to a deeper sight of the relationship between specific facets and photo catalytic performance, together with a further understanding of SPR-induced photocatalytic activity. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.