Photocatalysis has attracted worldwide attention due to its potential in solar energy conversion.As a “green” advanced oxidation technology, it has been extensively used for water disinfection and wastewater treatment. This article provides a review of the recent progress in solar energy-induced photocatalytic disinfection of bacteria, focusing on the development of highly efficient photocatalysts and their underlying mechanisms in bacterial inactivation. The photocatalysts are classified into Ti O2-based and non-Ti O2-based systems, as Ti O2 is the most investigated photocatalyst. The synthesis methods, modification strategies, bacterial disinfection activities and mechanisms of different types of photocatalysts are reviewed in detail.Emphasis is given to the modified Ti O2, including noble metal deposition, non-metal doping,dye sensitization and composite Ti O2, along with typical non-Ti O2-based photocatalysts for bacterial disinfection, including metal oxides, sulfides, bismuth metallates, graphene-based photocatalysts, carbon nitride-based photocatalysts and natural photocatalysts. A simple and versatile methodology by using a partition system combined with scavenging study is introduced to study the photocatalytic disinfection mechanisms in different photocatalytic systems. This review summarizes the current state of the work on photocatalytic disinfection of bacteria, and is expected to offer useful insights for the future development in the field. Photocatalysis has been attracted worldwide attention due to its potential in solar energy conversion. As a “green” advanced oxidation technology, it has been extensively used for water disinfection and wastewater treatment. This article provides a review of the recent progress in solar energy- induced photocatalytic disinfection of bacteria, focusing on the development of highly efficient photocatalysts and their underlying mechanisms in bacterial inactivation. The photocatalysts are classified into Ti O2-based and non-Ti O2-based systems, as Ti O2 is the most investigated photocatalyst. The synthesis methods, modification strategies, bacterial disinfection activities and mechanisms of different types of photocatalysts are reviewed in detail. Emphasis is given to the modified Ti O2, including noble metal deposition, non-metal doping, dye sensitization and composite Ti O2, along with typical non-Ti O2-based photocatalysts for bacterial disinfection, including metal oxides, sulfides, bismuth m et allates, graphene-based photocatalysts, carbon nitride-based photocatalysts and natural photocatalysts. A simple and versatile methodology by using a partition system combined with scavenging study was introduced to the photocatalytic disinfection mechanisms in different photocatalytic systems. This review summarizes the current state of the work on photocatalytic disinfection of bacteria, and is expected to offer useful insights for the future development in the field.