Novel corncob-like nano-heterostructured Ag-Cu2O photocatalyst has been controllably prepared by adjusting the synthetic parameters, and the possible formation mechanism has been also studied. The photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performances demonstrated that the as-prepared Ag-Cu2O nanocorncobs exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than both pure Cu2O nanowires and cable-like Ag@Cu2O nano-composites. It was concluded that Ag-Cu2O nanocorncobs with suitably exposed Ag surface not only effectively inhibit the recombination of electron-hole pairs but also suitably increase the active sites of electronic conduction, and thus increasing the photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.