MOF-5 has been criticized for its poor water stability, which results in complete damage of its traditional functionality. Therefore, there are very few researches about the further application of hydrolyzed MOF-5 (h-M). However, in this work, the h-M can function as both superior support and semiconductor for photocatalytic reaction after a water-based process. Herein, a rational design of Zn0.2Cd0.8S@h-MOF-5 (ZCS@h-M) heterojunction photocatalyst has been synthesized via a hydrothermal method with different mass ratio of ZCS. As demonstrated in the results of SEM and TEM, during the hydrothermal process, MOF-5 exfoliated into two-dimensional small sheets and ZCS nanoparticles embedded into h-M frameworks, which is in favor for the dispersion of ZCS and better interface connection, thus further boosts the migration of photogenerated charge carriers and protect the photocorrosion of ZCS, ultimately improves the photocatalytic hydrogen production. Optimal ZCS content of 10 wt% exhibited a significantly enhanced visible light photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency of 15.08 mmol h(-1)g(-1), which far surpassed bare ZCS at 7.62 times. Furthermore, the ZCS@h-M showed outstanding stability during photocatalytic hydrogen production over a number of cycles. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.