CdS nanowires and nanorods were successfully synthesized by the simple solvothermal method and tested their photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB). The monodispersed CdS nanowire and nanorods were confirmed from the field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) analysis. The prepared photocatalyst demonstrated the superior visible light photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB). The highest degradation (97%) of MB was achieved within 180 min and 90% towards RhB. Therefore, CdS nanowire has a remarkable towards organic pollutants under the visible light irradiation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.