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• TiO2 QDs was combined with CDs and AgI to prepare novel ternary photocatalysts. • Activity of the nanocomposite was 77-folds greater than TiO2 in RhB degradation. • The nanocomposite displayed substantial activity in removal of three dye pollutants. • The ternary nanocomposite displayed remarkable stability for recycling runs. In this research, visible-light-induced TiO 2 QDs/CDs/AgI photocatalysts were synthesized by simple refluxing strategy. Various instruments such as TEM, HRTEM, FESEM, EDX, XRD, XPS, PL, EIS, photocurrent, FT-IR, BET, UV–vis DRS, and Mott–Sckottky were exploited to investigate their characteristics. Photocatalytic abilities of the as-obtained samples were assessed by decomposition of MB, fuchsine, RhB, and phenol upon visible light. The optimum TiO 2 QDs/CDs/AgI (30%) nanocomposite completely degraded RhB after 30 min. This enhancement is about 77, 6, and 2.7 times as premiere as those of the bare TiO 2 , TiO 2 QDs, and TiO 2 QDs/CDs (0.25 mL) samples, respectively. These increments of photocatalytic ability is credited to the more generation and transfer of e–/h+ pairs among TiO 2 QDs, CDs, and AgI counterparts and improved textural features. The higher photocatalytic activity and long-term stability results proved that the TiO 2 QDs/CDs/AgI (30%) nanocomposite could be an auspicious candidate for the elimination of different organic contaminants in the ecosystem. Moreover, a reasonable mechanism for the photodegradation of pollutants was also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]