Ag3PO4/PAN composite nanofibers have been fabricated by simple and low cost electrospinning technique followed by surface modification of PAN nanofibers with amidoxime (-C(CN2)=NOH) groups to utilize as anchoring sites for Ag+ ions through coordinate bonding. Subsequently, the coordinated Ag* ions were allowed to react with PO43- ions in order to form Ag3PO4/PAN composite nanofibers. Thus obtained composites were characterized by FESEM, XRD, TEM, FTIR, XPS and UV-vis. Experimental results revealed that composite nanofibers prepared by reacting (-C(CN2)=NOH) functionalized PAN nanofibers with 0.02 M solutions of AgNO3 and Na2HPO4 have higher efficiency towards the photodegradation and bactericidal activities under visible light. (C) 2016 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.