Decoration of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) on surface of alpha-SnWO4 nanosheets has been achieved by a microwave-assisted deposition method. The as-synthesized products are structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results illustrate that Ag-NPs are evenly anchored onto alpha-SnWO4 surface to form close heterojunction and the amount of Ag nanopartides grown on alpha-SnWO4 nanosheets can be well controlled by tuning Ag+ concentration. The photocatalytic properties of Ag-NPs/alpha-SnWO4 composites are evaluated by degrading methyl orange (MO) under visible-light irradiation. Ag-NP5/rt-SnWO4 composites exhibit better photocatalytic properties than that of pure a-SnWO4, and Ag-NP5/ot-SnWO4 (5 mol% Ag) presents the best photocatalytic activity, whose photodegradation efficiency of MO is about 97% within 70 min. In addition, the obtained samples demonstrate good recyclability. The enhanced photocatalytic properties was attributed to synergistic effect between Ag-NPs and ot-SnWO4 nanosheets, which can increase absorption of visible light enabled by surface plasma resonance (SPR) of Ag-NPs and facilitate the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.