Co-catalysts for H-2 production are often made from expensive noble metals, such as the most efficient Pt. The alternative non-noble metal co-catalysts with low cost and high efficiency are therefore highly desirable for economically viable H-2 production. Herein, we demonstrated that a CdS/MoS2/Mo sheets system simultaneously containing photocatalysts, co-catalysts, and conductive supports, was prepared via the one-step hydrothermal process by Mo sheets as template and Mo sources. The obtained CdS/MoS2/Mo sheets possess the superior photocatalytic H-2 production via water splitting under visible light irradiation, which achieved an extraordinary H-2 production of 4540 mu mol h(-1) g(-1), up to 28.6 and 3.6 times greater than that of CdS alone and Pt/CdS. The synergetic effect of MoS2 as co-catalysts and Mo sheets as conductive supports contribute to the dramatically improved photocatalytic H-2 evolution activity of CdS photocatalysts, by means of facilitating charge carriers separation and providing active sites for proton reduction. These findings provide a straightforward and practical route to produce cheap and efficient co-catalysts for large-scale water splitting. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.