A photoresponsive hollow molecularly imprinted polymer (PHMIP) was fabricated for photoresponsive recognition and determination of trace bisphenol A (BPA) in aqueous media using a water-soluble azo compound as the functional monomer. The PHMIP was prepared on sacrificial silica microspheres by surface imprinting and subsequent removal of the silica core. The PHMIP displayed photocontrolled recognition for BPA. SEM, TEM, FT-IR, TGA and NZ adsorption-desorption analyses confirmed successful formation of the hollow structure. The PHMIP displayed higher binding capacity, a larger specific area, and faster mass transfer rate than its corresponding surface molecularly imprinted polymer. The PHMIP was used to determine trace BPA in real samples with a limit of detection of 0.5 ppm. For samples spiked at 0-10 ppm, the BPA recoveries were in the range of 93.0%-99.0%. This PHMIP-based method provides convenient and inexpensive detection method for trace BPA in environmental samples. This method is especially suitable for determining materials that do not possess specific spectroscopic or luminescent properties. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.