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• CDs-ZSO composites were prepared by a simple precipitation-calcination method. • The CDs-ZSO composites showed outstanding visible-light photocatalytic activity. • The photocatalytic reaction mechanism and degradation pathway of TC were revealed. It is highly desired to enhance the photocatalytic activity of ZnSnO 3 owing to its potential application prospects in the photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics in water, such as the low cost, non-toxicity, simple preparation, although ZnSnO 3 possesses wide band gap (~3.2 eV). Herein, a novel carbon dots (CDs) modified porous ZnSnO 3 cubic photocatalyst was designed and synthesized using a simple precipitation-calcination method, which was to utilize the up-conversion photoluminescence performance and the ability of electronic transfer of CDs, further broadening the visible light absorption range of the photocatalyst and accelerating the separation of the electron-hole pairs. The experimental results indicate that with the optimal CDs loading (3 wt%), the CDs modified ZnSnO 3 exhibits 21 times higher degradation kinetic towards tetracycline (TC) than pure ZnSnO 3. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of CDs-ZnSnO 3 composites may be attributed to the increased absorption of visible light as well as the improved separation of interface charge carrier. The possible mechanism of antibiotic photodegradation in the CDs-ZnSnO 3 composite photocatalytic system was proposed by active species capture experiment and electron spin resonance (ESR) technique. Furthermore, the possible photodegradation pathway of TC was proposed on the basis of the intermediates detected by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technology. This work provides a feasible strategy for effectively applying ZnSnO 3 -based photocatalyst to photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]