The resistive switching device is a fascinating candidate for next generation nonvolatile memories. In this Letter, we report a simple hydrothermal way to prepare Ce2W3O12 powder. Furthermore, we fabricated a resistive switching memory device with Ag/Ce2W3O12/fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) structure. Moreover, we observed the effect of visible-light illumination on resistive switching memory behaviour in Ag/Ce2W3O12/FTO devices. This Letter is useful for exploring the new potential materials for resistive switching memory device, and provides the visible-light as a new control method for resistive switching random access memory (RRAM). (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.