This study explores the development of metal doped hybrid Nb2O5/carbon xerogel photocatalysts. The materials were characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dispersive energy spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The X-ray diffractograms of the materials are characteristic of amorphous carbon. The palladium doped composite also exhibits the hexagonal phase of the niobium oxide. The chemical elements are evenly distributed on the materials, confirming the dispersion of the doping metals in the material matrix. All composite materials absorb radiation in the visible light region. All composites exhibited photocatalytic activity under visible radiation, except for the iron doped material. The palladium doped material showed superior efficiency in the degradation of methylene blue, due to its lower band gap and higher absorption of visible light.