Nickel oxide/Au porous nanobelts were synthesized by hydrolysis of nickel (II) sulfate in the presence of Au nanoparticles under hydrothermal condition and subsequent calcination of Ni(OH)(2)/Au precursor in air. XPS measurement indicated the existence of both NiO and Ni2O3 in nickel oxide/Au porous nanobelts. Heterojunctions between NiO and Ni2O3, as well as between NiO and Au, were observed in HRTEM images. Under visible light irradiation (lambda > 420 nm), nickel oxide/Au porous nanobelts effectively produced hydrogen from water in the presence of Na2S and Na2SO3 as sacrificial electron donor. The highest rate of hydrogen production over nickel oxide/Au porous nanobelt was 38.5 times higher than that of commercial NiO loaded with the same amount of Au. The photoluminescence spectra and transient photocurrent responses of nickel oxide/Au nanobelts reveal that the improved photocatalytic activity is due to the increased electron-hole separation at NiO-Ni2O3 and NiO-Au interfaces. This work shows that low-cost nickel oxide could be used as visible light-active photocatalyst for hydrogen production. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.