A composite photocatalyst, Pd-TiO2-xNx-WO3, was synthesized by the template method and characterized by energy dispersive X-ray micro-analysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectrometer, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results of EDX analysis reveals that the molecular formula of the composite photocatalyst can be expressed as Pd-TiO1.72N0.28-WO3. The UV-vis absorption spectrum indicates that the absorption edge of the catalyst red-shifts to around 600 nm. Under the irradiation with ultraviolet and visible light, the catalyst showed good performance for photocatalytic hydrogen production with a Na2S/Na2SO3 system as the sacrificial agent. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.