Organic, inorganic, and biological pollutants are typical water contaminants and they seriously affect water quality. In this study, we suggested that a novel multifunctional Ag3PO4 loaded hydroxyapatite (HAP) material can remove the typical pollutants from water. The Ag3PO4/HAP composites were synthesized facilely via in-situ precipitation of Ag3PO4 on the pre-existing HAP nanowires. By optimizing the composition of Ag3PO4 and HAP, the material could achieve an optimal photocatalytic activity to decompose rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiations with enhanced pH stability. Besides, the adsorption of Pb(II) on the Ag3PO4/HAP reached a maximum capacity of 250 mg/g and this value was approximately three times as that of pure HAP, Furthermore, the composite material exhibited excellent antibacterial activities towards gram-negative bacterium (Escherichia coli) and gram-positive bacterium (Stphylococcus aureus). The results highlighted the cooperative effect between Ag3PO4 and hydroxyapatite (HAP). The simultaneous removals of dyes, toxic metal ions, and bacteria with a high efficiency followed an easy approach for the purification of contaminated water via the rationally designed material, in which the Ag3PO4/HAP composite might be developed as a general water treatment material with multiple functions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.