Cuprous oxide 3-D ordered macroporous material was constructed by electrochemical deposition using a polystyrene colloidal crystal as template. The highly ordered macroporous structure with a hexagonal array can be extended over hundreds of square micrometers. The photonic stop bands of both the PS colloidal crystal and Cu2O 3DOM were found. Due to the highly ordered porous structure, the optical absorption and the charge carrier transportation are better in Cu2O 3DOM than in bulk Cu2O, which makes the reduction of oxygen faster on Cu2O 3DOM than on bulk Cu2O under visible light illumination. The higher photocurrent efficiency under visible light illumination makes the 3DOM Cu2O more suitable for solar applications. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.