Barium tungstate (BaWO4) rod like nanostructures were synthesized by slightly modified hydrothermal technique using sodium tungstate dihydrate (Na2WO4. 2H(2)O) as tungstate ion source and barium nitrate [Ba(NO3)(2)] as barium ion source. The prepared nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. BaWO4 nanorods were explored for their photocatalytic activity through decomposition of crystal violet (CV) dye under visible light under different pH conditions (acidic to basic) from 2 to 12. It was observed that BaWO4 completely degrades CV within 60 min at highest pH of 12. BaWO4 nanorods were also investigated for electrochemical detection of important analytes such as glucose and ascorbic acid using cyclic voltammetric technique. These studies exhibit the potential of BaWO4 nanostructures for applications in environmental sciences as well as biosensor areas.