Flower-like SnO2 single crystals were successfully synthesized using hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance (DRS). As-synthesized flower-like SnO2 single crystals exhibited higher photoactivity (about 2.2 times) than granular SnO2 for degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye. The trapping experiment showed that the holes (h(+)) and hydroxyl radical ((OH)-O-center dot) were the main active species in the photodegradation process. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.