Heterostructured photo-catalysts comprising of palladium nanocrystal as a cocatalyst with an averaged diameter ca. 15 nm were facilely synthesized, in which the palladium nanocrystals were deposited onto BiVO₄ and truncated octahedral Cu₂O respectively by a photo-reduction method. The palladium nanocrystals significantly boosted photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO) as compared to the pristine samples. Those results have demonstrated palladium behaved as an excellent co-catalyst for enhancing photodegradation of organic dyes. The photocatalytic activity enhancement is attributed to boosted charge separation via Schottky contact.