Photocatalytic oxidation reactions provide a promising strategy for green synthesis of fine chemicals. However, the low photocatalytic efficiency and selectivity are the main obstacles. Herein, we report the ultrathin Bi2MoO6 nanoplates with thickness of 17 nm which exhibit a superior performance in alcohol oxidation to corresponding aldehyde using O-2 under visible light irradiation, achieving ca. 29 times enhancement of activity compared with Bi2MoO6 synthesized from traditional hydrothermal method (thickness of 250 nm). When Pt nanoparticles as cocatalyst are loaded on the surface of the ultrathin Bi2MoO6 nanoplates, the photocatalytic performance is further enhanced. The remarkable enhancement of activity is attributed to the ultrathin 2D geometry of Bi2MoO6 nanoplates, promoting the charge-separation efficiency and affording abundant catalytically active sites. The excellent selectivity of photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol on the ultrathin Bi2MoO6 is attributed to the different adsorption behaviors of benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde. This study could also provide an efficient strategy for improving the photocatalytic performance by rational fabrication of two-dimensional semiconductor materials for organic synthesis. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Inc.