ZnBiYO4 was synthesized by a solid-state reaction method for the first time. The structural and photocatalytic properties of ZnBiYO4 were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance.ZnBiYO4 crystallized with a tetragonal spinel structure with space group I41/A. The lattice parameters for ZnBiYO4 were a = b = 11.176479  and c = 10.014323 . The band gap of ZnBiYO4 was estimated to be 1.58 e V. The photocatalytic activity of ZnBiYO4 was assessed by photodegradation of methyl orange under visible light irradiation. The results showed that ZnBiYO4 had higher catalytic activity compared with N-doped Ti O2 under the same experimental conditions using visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange with ZnBiYO4 or N-doped Ti O2 as catalyst followed first-order reaction kinetics, and the first-order rate constant was 0.01575 and 0.00416 min-1for ZnBiYO4 and N-doped Ti O2, respectively. After visible light irradiation for 220 min with ZnBiYO4 as catalyst, complete removal and mineralization of methyl orange were observed. The reduction of total organic carbon, formation of inorganic products, SO2-4and NO-3, and evolution of CO2 revealed the continuous mineralization of methyl orange during the photocatalytic process. The intermediate products were identified using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. The ZnBiYO4/(visible light) photocatalysis system was found to be suitable for textile industry wastewater treatment and could be used to solve other environmental chemical pollution problems. ZnBiYO4 was synthesized by a solid-state reaction method for the first time. The structural and photocatalytic properties of ZnBiYO4 were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance. ZnBiYO4 crystallized with a The band gap of ZnBiYO4 was estimated to be 1.58 e V. The photocatalytic activity of ZnBiYO4 was assessed by photodegradation. The band gap of ZnBiYO4 was estimated to be 1.58 e V. The lattice parameters for ZnBiYO4 were a = b = 11.176479  and c = 10.014323 . of methyl orange under visible light irradiation. The results showed that ZnBiYO4 had higher catalytic activity than with N-doped Ti O2 under the same experimental conditions using visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange with ZnBiYO4 or N-doped Ti O2 as catalyst followed first-order reaction kinetics, and the first-order rate constant was 0.01575 and 0.00416 min-1for ZnBiYO4 and N-doped Ti O2, res After reduction of total organic carbon, formation of inorganic products, SO2-4 and NO-3, and evolution of CO2 revealed the continuous mineralization of methyl orange during the photocatalytic process. The intermediate products were identified using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The ZnBiYO4 / (visible light) photocatalysis system was found to be suitable for textile industry wastewater treatment and could be used to solve other environmental chemical pollution problems.