ZnFe2O4/Agl composites were first prepared successfully with a hydrothermal method, and ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles were uniformly decorated on the surface of Agl particles. The photocatalytic activities of the obtained ZnFe2O4/Agl composites were investigated by the degradation of organic pollutants and the inactivation of bacteria under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the introduction of ZnFe2O4 greatly enhanced the light harvesting ability and improved the separation efficiency of the photogenerated charge carriers, which contributed to the enhanced generation of reactive species and thus promoted the photocatalytic performance. The 5% ZnFe2O4/Agl composite exhibited the optimal photo catalytic disinfection of E. coli (100% removal efficiency in 80 min) as well as the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) (98.5% removal rate in 40 min). Furthermore, four consecutive cycles also demonstrated the stable photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared ZnFe2O4/Agl composites. In addition, H2O2 was identified as the predominant active species in the photocatalytic inactivation of bacteria. This study indicated that ZnFe2O4/Agl composites are a promising candidate for the treatment of wastewater. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.