Visible-light-driven Ca(1-x)Ln(x)MnO(3) (Ln=Sm, Ho; 0.1 <= x <= 0.4) films were grown by RF-magnetron sputtering onto fused silica substrates. The effects of Ca2+ substitution for Ho3+ or Sm3+ in Ca(1-x)Ln(x)MnO(3) on the structural, morphological and photocatalytic properties for rhodamine 6G dye degradation under visible light irradiation were investigated. XRD showed a pure typical perovskite phase for all the prepared films, except for Ca0.9Ho0.1MnO3 and a decrease of the crystallite size with the increase of the amount of ion substituted. SEM and AFM revealed that the films surface is dense, with low roughness. UV-vis spectroscopy indicated for the two series band gaps in the range of 1.6-2.8eV, being lower for the films containing holmium. The results showed that some Ca(1-x)Ln(x)MnO(3) and Ca1-xSmxMnO3 films present higher photocatalytic activity for Rh6G degradation in comparison with TiO2 films and for the same x value the Ho-films exhibited higher photocatalytic activity. For both films series the maximal degradation rate was obtained for x =0.2; above this content the degradation percentage exhibits a decreasing trend with the increase of Ho or Sm substitution, except for x =0.4 in the case of Ho system, which is observed again an increase in the degradation rate. The Rh6G photocatalytic degradation followed a pseudo first-order reaction kinetics. XRD and SEM of the used photocatalysts evidenced high photochemical stability. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.