We report a facile synthesis of hierarchical SnO2 microspheres and their characterizations and the application as a kind of photocatalyst. The microspheres were prepared by using a simple hydrothermal process. The detailed structure and morphology revealed that the microsphere consists of small SnO2 nanoparticles, forming a hollow microsphere. The prepared SnO2 microspheres were further used as a kind of potential photocatalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of several toxic organic dyes such as methylene blue, eosin red and Congo red. Significant photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes was observed in a short period of time when SnO2 microspheres were used as efficient photocatalyst towards targeted organic dyes. A highly photocatalytic degradation (over 95%) of methylene blue (MB) was observed. The SnO2 microspheres also exhibited high degradation efficiency after at least 5 cycles, indicating it can be reused. The prepared microspheres also exhibited appreciable photocatalytic degradation for eosin red and Congo red dyes. The SnO2 microspheres may have potential applications in waste water treatment. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.