Endowment of photocatalytic property on the surface of concrete structure can contribute to the self-cleaning of the structure and purification of the polluted environment. We developed a nano-structured BiOBr@SiO2 photocatalyst and innovatively used for surface-treatment of cement-based materials with the hope of attaining the photocatalytic property in visible-light region and surface modification/densification performances. The SiO2 layer on the flower-like BiOBr@SiO2 helps to maintain a stable distribution of the photocatalyst, as well as achieving a chemical bonding between the coating and the cement matrix. Results showed that the color fading rate of during the degradation of Rhodamine B dye of the BiOBr-cem sample is 2 times higher compared with the commonly studied C, N-TiO2-cem sample. The photo-degradation rates of samples BiOBr-cem and BiOBr@SiO2-cem are 93 and 81% within 150 min, respectively, while sample BiOBr@SiO2-cem reveals a denser and smoother surface after curing for 28 days and pore-filling effect at size within 0.01-0.2 mu m when compared with untreated samples. Moreover, additional C-S-H gel can be formed due to the pozzolanic reaction between BiOBr@ SiO2 and the hardened cement matrix. Both advantages of the BiOBr@ SiO2 favor its application for surface-treatment of hardened cement-based material to acquire an improved surface quality, as well as durable photocatalytic functionality. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.