A facile controlled synthesis method of Bi3+ self doped NaBiO3 nanosheets was developed by using acidic hydrolysis of NaBiO3 center dot 2H(2)O in HNO3 solutions. It was found that the hydrolysis of NaBiO3 center dot 2H(2)O in HNO3 solutions at low concentrations (0< c(HNO3)/c(NaBiO3 center dot 2H(2)O) <= 0.2) resulted in the doping of NaBiO3 nanosheets by Bi3+. In comparison with the untreated NaBiO3 center dot 2H(2)O, the Bi3+ self doped NaBiO3 nanosheets prepared at c(HNO3)/c(NaBiO3 center dot 2H(2)O) = 0.2 were confirmed to show much enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B and bisphenol A under visible light illumination (lambda > 420 nm). The pseudo-zero order reaction kinetic constant for the degradation of rhodamine B (20 mu mol L-1) over the Bi3+ self doped NaBiO3 was 0.68 mu mol L-1 min(-1), being 3.1 times that of NaBiO3 center dot 2H(2)O. The much enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Bi3+ self doped NaBiO3 nanosheet photocatalyst was attributed to its improved absorption of visible light and separation of photo-generated h(+)/e(-) pairs. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.