A novel photocatalytic composite material KBr-doped ZnO was prepared using the sol-gel method. The KBr-doped ZnO was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET surface area measurements. As-prepared KBr-doped ZnO exhibited higher photocatalytic activity when compared to the pure ZnO on the removal of oil from oily sewage with a 300W UV lamp as lighting source. Experiments indicated that parameters such as calcining temperature, KBr doping amounts, dosages of catalyst, and pH value have great influence in the photocatalysis reaction.