We demonstrate that BiOCl single-crystalline nanosheets possess surface structure-dependent molecular oxygen activation properties under UV light. The (001) surface of BiOCl prefers to reduce O-2 to center dot O-2(-) through one-electron transfer, while the (010) surface favors the formation of O-2(2-) via two-electron transfer, which is cogoverned by the surface atom exposure and the situ generated oxygen vacancy characteristics of the (001) and (010) surfaces under UV light irradiation.