A series of (BiO)(2)CO3/BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I) heterostructured photocatalysts were synthesized through acid etching method and characterized by XRD, DRS, SEM and HRTEM, respectively. Under visible light (lambda > 400 nm), (BiO)(2)CO3/BiOX displayed much higher photocatalytic activity than pure (BiO)(2)CO3 and corresponding BiOX for the degradation of methyl orange (MO). The photocatalytic activities of the as-prepared samples increased following this order: (BiO)(2)CO3/BiOCl < (BiO)(2)CO3/BiOBr < (BiO)(2)CO3/BiOI. The enhanced photocatalytic activities could be attributed to the function of heterojunction interface between (BiO)(2)CO3 and BiOX. Moreover, except for the role of heterostructure, the excellent photocatalytic performance of (BiO)(2)CO3/BiOI also originated from its good visible light absorption. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.