Hydrogen gas has been attracting significant interest as an emerging energy source that is clean, sustainable, and renewable. Primarily, it can be produced via photoelectrochemical (PEC) splitting of water using solar energy. Among the various catalysts employed for the photoreduction of water, two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D-TMDs) are inarguably the best candidates toward industrialization because they have extraordinary physical, optical, and electric properties, and are solution-processable at low costs. In this review, we focus on the development of 2D-TMDs and their PEC properties toward the hydrogen evolution reaction. First, the synthesis and properties of 2D materials are summarized and discussed. Next, the strategies for improving the photocatalytic activity of the 2D material-based catalysts for water splitting are thoroughly investigated. Finally, the remaining challenges and direction for the future development of 2D-TMDs in PEC catalysis-derived hydrogen evolution reaction are addressed. (c) 2020 Society of Chemical Industry