Enhanced light absorption and effective separation of photogenerated charges are the main strategies to improve the photocatalytic performance of photocatalytic materials. In this study, the enhanced light absorption and effective separation of photogenerated charges in Ag3PO4 photocatalyst can be easily realized via the simultaneous loading of Ag nanoparticles and Fe(III) cocatalyst. In this case, the noble metallic Ag nanoparticles not only function as a visible-light active component to strongly absorb visible light owing to its localized surface plasmon resonance, but also can improve the bandgap visible-light absorption of Ag3PO4, resulting in the generation of more photogenerated charges. Photocatalytic experimental results suggested that the simultaneously modified Fe(III)/Ag-Ag3PO4 photocatalyst showed an obviously higher photocatalytic activity than the pure Ag3PO4, and single-component modified Fe(III)/Ag3PO4 and Ag-Ag3PO4 photocatalysts. On the basis of the experimental results, a possible synergistic effect mechanism of Ag nanoparticles and Fe(III) cocatalyst was proposed to account for the improved photocatalytic performance of Fe(III)/Ag-Ag3PO4 photocatalyst, namely, the metallic Ag nanoparticles cause an obviously enhanced visible-light absorption to produce more photogenerated charges, while the Fe(III) works as an effective active site for the following oxygen reduction to reduce the recombination rate of photogenerated electrons and holes. The present work can provide some new insight for the smart design and preparation of new high-performance photocatalytic materials. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.