BiOI nanosheets were successfully immobilized on electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers via successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) at room temperature. The BiOI content of the as-prepared BiOI/PAN nanofibers (BiOI/PAN NFs) was controlled by adjusting the SILAR circulations. Due to the high surface area, the BiOI/PAN NFs showed outstanding visible-light photocatalytic activity for degradation of Rhodamine B, Methyl orange and beta-phenol. Moreover, the improved photocatalytic activity has been achieved with the increase content of BiOI in the BiOI/PAN NFs. It was also worth noting that the BiOI/PAN NFs could be reused almost without decrease of photocatalytic activity after three recycling, which could be ascribed to the large aspect ratio and self-supporting flexibility of the as-obtained BiOI/PAN NFs. Therefore, the BiOI/PAN NFs are very promising for the practical application in the wastewater treatment. BiOI nanosheets have been successfully immobilized on electrospun PAN nanofibers via successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method at room temperature, exhibiting high visible-light photocatalytic activity and excellent reusable performance. [GRAPHICS] .