Nanoparticles have plenty of active sites in each particle and short travel distance for photoexcitons proved to be beneficial characteristics for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. Noble metal (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Ru, and Rh) attached with semiconductor photo catalyst displayed plasmonic oscillations results in localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect and schottky junction formed to pump the photoelectrons to surface for reactions. Literature reports evidenced that the choice of synthesis method and experimental conditions directly affects the catalytic and optical properties. Hence, this review discusses comprehensive information on chemical methods reported for the preparation of plasmonic photocatalyst that resulted in co-catalyst and visible light sensitizer properties. Recent developments and achievements on plasmonic photocatalyst for hydrogen production in pure water and sacrificial agent containing water are discussed and highlighted. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.