BiOCl photocatalysts with changed properties were synthesized successfully at room temperature through the design of synthetic route and the addition of KI or KI/H2O2. The properties of obtained BiOCl samples showed a certain difference in crystallinity, morphology, structure, specific surface area, composition, band gap energy and exterior color. These BiOCl photocatalysts exhibited excellent visible-light-induced photocatalytic activities towards the degradation of phenol in aqueous solution, and also exhibited good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RhB). The formation process of the BiOCl samples and the photocatalytic degradation mechanism of phenol were explored, and the relationship between the structure and performance was established. In addition, the photochemical stability of BiOCl samples was also investigated. The results showed that the as-prepared BiOCl exhibited excellent visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity, and the preparation method was simple and convenient for practical applications. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.