A series of α-Fe 2 O 3 /SnO 2 semiconductor nanoheterostructure photocatalysts have been fabricated using a facile co-precipitation method. Precipitation of both SnO 2 and α-Fe 2 O 3 were achieved with the slow hydrolysis of urea followed by addition of 1% NH 3 and the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), DR UV–vis spectroscopy, and N 2 adsorption–desorption. Analytical results explain the synthesized materials are crystalline, mesoporous, visible light active (except SnO 2 ) and also presents in the nano-order form. The as-prepared α-Fe 2 O 3 /SnO 2 photocatalysts possessed extended light absorption in the visible range and proficient charge separation properties simultaneously. The significant enhancement in the reaction rate was observed in α-Fe 2 O 3 /SnO 2 , compared to the bare SnO 2 towards photodegradation of malachite green. The highest degradation percentage was found to be 86% with the 2mol % α-Fe 2 O 3 modified SnO 2 catalyst.