In this paper, WO3-wrapped NaTaO3 nanospheres photocatalysts with different W/Ta molar ratios were successfully prepared via a facile hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission and scan electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, FT-IR spectrum, UV vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and Barrett Emmett Teller technique. The photocatalytic activities for degrading tetracycline hydrochloride under visible light irradiation were examined. The results indicated that the as-prepared NaTaO3@WO3 photocatalysts showed the obvious enhancement in the tetracycline hydrochloride degradation ratio, compared with the pure NaTaO3 and WO3 under visible light irradiation. The optimum percentage of NaTaO3@WO3 composites with a 60.88% degradation rate was W:Ta = 0.3:1 in mole, which was mainly attributed to the effective separation of the photo-generated electron and hole as well as the expanding of the absorption edge to the visible region due to the spherical heterojunction by wrapping WO3 on the surface of NaTaO3. The radicals trapping experiments demonstrated that there were multiple active species during the degrading process of TC. The possible mechanism of tetracycline hydrochloride degradation by NaTaO3@WO3 composite was also proposed. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.