Selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols to corresponding carbonyl compounds under mild conditions has a promising prospect in industry. In the paper, we successfully prepared a new mode of photothermocatalyst, Zn3In2S6@ZnO composite, which shows dramatically enhanced activity for selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde compared with single Zn3In2S6 and ZnO under visible light illumination. The enhancement is due to a synergistic effect of low-temperature thermocatalysis on ZnO and photo catalysis on Zn3In2S6. ZnO could weaken bonds of the C-H-alpha and the O-H. Then the reactive species (O-center dot(2)- and h+) generated on Zn3In2S6 could be easy for selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to produce benzaldehyde. The photoelectrochemical and photoluminescence (PL) results and a series of control experiments (e.g. reaction temperature and radical scavenger) prove this synergistic effect and proposed mechanism. Moreover, the stable performance and high activity of Zn3In2S6@ZnO for other aromatic alcohols indicate its applicable potential. This study provides a promising way to combine photocatalysis and thermocatalysis for the design of novel and efficient visible-light-driven catalyst for selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols or other organics under mild reaction conditions. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.