A route to fabricate the homogeneous one-dimensional (1D) Ni (x) Cd1-x S nanorods (NRs) photocatalysts is designed with ethanediamine-assisted decomposition of Ni (x) Cd1-x (DDTC)(2) complex precursors. This route developed Ni (x) Cd1-x (DDTC)(2) complex precursors by co-precipitation method at room temperature condition. The effects of Ni2+ doped into CdS lattice on the length and photocatalytic performance of the Ni (x) Cd1-x S NRs have been investigated in detail. It is found that doping of Ni2+ significantly affects the aspect ratio of 1D Ni (x) Cd1-x S NRs. With the increasing doping concentration of Ni2+, the length of as-obtained Ni (x) Cd1-x S NRs becomes shorter. In addition, their photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B dye as a probe reaction under visible-light irradiation. The results show that the optimal Ni2+ addition shows efficient photocatalytic performance and excellent photo stability, which may result from Ni2+ lattice doping. A tentative photocatalytic mechanism of 1D Ni (x) Cd1-x S NRs is proposed for further explanation of photocatalytic performance.