In this article, we report a novel Ag@Ag3PO4@ZnO ternary heterostructures synthesized through a three-step approach. Firstly, single-crystalline Ag nanorods are fabricated and served as the templates for subsequent Ag3PO4 deposition. Secondly, Ag3PO4 crystals are grown around Ag core nanorods through a solution co-precipitation process, leading to the Ag@Ag3PO4 binary heterostructures. Finally, ZnO nanorod arrays on the surface of the Ag@Ag3PO4 heterostructures are realized via a seeded growth strategy, forming the typical Ag@Ag3PO4@ZnO ternary heterostructures. The photodegradation of rhodamine B under ultraviolet-visible light irradiation indicates that the Ag@Ag3PO4@ZnO ternary heterostructures exhibit much higher activities than pure Ag3PO4 and binary heterostructures of Ag@Ag3PO4. The higher photocatalytic activity of the Ag@Ag3PO4@ZnO composites may be attributed to the effective photogenerated charge separation at heterointerfaces of Ag/Ag3PO4 and Ag3PO4/ZnO, and the rapid electron transport along one-dimensional Ag and ZnO nanorods. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.