The Bi2O2CO3 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method using urea as surfactant. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selective electron diffraction (SAED) and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) techniques were used to investigate the Bi2O2CO3 products. The results showed the size of Bi2O2CO3 samples was less than 2 μm, and absorption edge of the samples prepared using 0.1 g urea as surfactant is 394 nm and the band gap is 3.14 eV. Sample prepared by 0.1 g urea had excellent photocatalytic activity. The results showed: RhB was degraded by 20% under visible light for 200 min, and the degradation rate of RhB was 80% at 120 min under UV light, which was higher than TiO2. Superoxide radical (O2-) and the hole (h ) are the main active species in the photocatalytic degradation of Bi2O2CO3. Cyclic degradation experiments showed that the synthesized samples had high stability.