A series of ZnIn2S4 photocatalysts were successfully synthesized using the hydrothermal method with different hydrothermal temperatures (120, 140, 160, 180, and 200 degrees C) and characterized by various analysis techniques, such as UV-vis, XRD, SEM, BET and PL The results indicated that these photocatalysts had a similar band gap. The hydrothermal temperature had a huge influence on the properties of the photocatalysts such as the BET surface area, the total pore volume, the average pore diameter, the defects and the morphology. The photocatalytic activities of ZnIn2S4 were evaluated based on photocatalytic hydrogen production from water under visible-light irradiation. The activity order is attributed to the coefficient of the surface morphology and the surface defects. The hydrogen production efficiency achieved the best when the hydrothermal temperature was 160 degrees C. On the basis of the characterization of the catalysts, the effects of the hydrothermal temperature on the photocatalytic activity of ZnIn2S4 were discussed. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.