C-coated ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites were successfully synthesized via a facile one-pot solvothermal approach. Their structure and properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). According to the results, C-coated ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites are evenly wrapped by carbon layers, and their optical and electronic properties have been improved compared to blank ZnIn2S4. Such properties can be tuned by changing the amounts of glucose added. Moreover, C-coated ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites exhibit much better photocatalytic performance than blank ZnIn2S4 toward the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol under visible light and mild conditions. The best performance was observed at 30 mg of glucose addition, which achieved 95% selectivity, 70% conversion and 68% yield. This is attributed to the synergistic effect based on the intimate interfacial contacts between the carbon layers and ZnIn2S4, which could prolong the lifetime of photoexcited carriers. Our work could enlarge the application of ZnIn2S4 as a visible-light-driven photocatalyst. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.