To further enhance the photocatalytic performance of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), we rationally combined two strategies (foreign metal doping and ultrathin nanosheet construction) to synthesize bismuth (III) (Bi3+) doped ultrathin g-C3N4 nanosheets (Bi-CNNS) via one-step thermal polymerization method using melamine as the raw material, bismuth nitrate pentahydrate (Bi(NO3)(3)center dot 5H(2)O) as the dopant source, and nitric acid (HNO3) and acetic acid (AC) as soft templates for the ultrathin nanosheets construction. The Bi-CNNS catalysts exhibited an excellent photocatalytic performance in tetracycline (TC) degradation. The TC removal efficiency reached to be 94.1% in 30 min under visible-light irradiation over 0.03Bi-CNNS, which is 6.03 times higher than that of pure g-C3N4 (CN). The higher specific surface area, narrower bandgap, the improved photoexcited electron-hole pair transfer and separation efficiency, and prolonged carrier lifetimes in the Bi3+-doped ultrathin g-C3N4 nanosheets led to a significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance. The main radical species responsible for the degradation of tetracycline over 0.03Bi-CNNS were O-center dot(2)- and (OH)-O-center dot. Moreover, the possible photodegradation intermediate products of TC were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), and a possible pathway was proposed. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.