To overcome the drawback of low solar energy utilization rate brought by general photocatalysts, a novel BiErWO6 photocatalyst with wide spectral responsive property was designed and synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The effects of hydrothermal temperature on the phase structure and the photocatalytic activities of the products were investigated. Due to the wide spectral absorption range, the as-prepared BiErWO6 photocatalyst showed good photocatalytic performance in degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under simulated solar light. Moreover, the BiErWO6 photocatalyst also exhibited high photocatalytic activity under a green LED (lambda = 520 nm) irradiation. This work provided a new concept for rational design and development of high-performance photocatalysts. (C) 2014 Elsevier BY. All rights reserved.