A novel visible-light photocatalyst, Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt-TiO2 membrane, was prepared via sol-gel-hydrothermal method on glass substrates as a support. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to reveal the crystallinity, surface morphology and chemical composition of the prepared Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt-TiO2 membrane. The catalytic activity of Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt-TiO2 membrane was examined through the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from some pollutants, including phenol, glycerol and Na2S/Na2SO3, which were used as electron donors, under visible-light irradiation. Furthermore, some influence factors, such as mass ratio, pre-treatment temperature and used times, on the photocatalytic activity of Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt-TiO2 membrane were studied. The experimental results showed that the Er3+:Y3Al5O12/Pt-TiO2 membrane is a good and broad-spectrum photocatalyst in visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution with simultaneous pollutant solution treatment. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.