Highly efficient [WO4](2-)-doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets were fabricated via a facile and simple method using dicyandiamide and sodium tungstate as precursors. Various analytical techniques were carried out to characterize the [WO4](2-)-doped g-C3N4 photocatalyst. The results illustrated that [WO4](2-) intercalated into the interlayers of g-C3N4 nanosheets and bridged with g-C3N4 nanosheets through the unoccupied orbital of tungsten in [WO4](2-) species and the lone-pair electrons of nitrogen in tris-s-triazine structure, resulting in the enhanced visible light absorption and the electronic structural modulation of g-C3N4. More significantly, the [WO4](2-)-doped g-C3N4 catalyst exhibited greatly enhanced photocatalytic activity and superior stability for the degradation of organic pollutants (including Rhodamine B, methyl orange and methylene blue) under visible light irradiation. In addition, the underlying photocatalytic reaction mechanism was investigated by the controlled experiments using radical scavengers. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.