The well-defined one-dimensional (1D) CdS@MoS2 (CM) core-shell nanowires are constructed by employing CdS nanowires (CdS NWs) as nanobuilding blocks via a facile hydrothermal strategy. The synergistic interaction, stemming from the large and intimate coaxial interfacial contact between MoS2 thin shell and 1D CdS core, can efficiently retard the charge carrier recombination and the MoS2 as noble metal-free cocatalyst enriches the active sites for H-2 evolution from water. Consequently, in comparison to bare CdS nanowires, the resultant 1D core-shell CM composite exhibits distinctly enhanced visible light activity for the evolution of H-2. Notably, the activity of 1D CM with the optimized 2 wt% of MoS2 exceeds that of pure CdS and CdS-1 wt% Pt composite by a factor of 64 and 4 times, respectively, under identical reaction conditions, while the apparent quantum yield (A.QY.) at 420 nm over 1D CM reaches 28.5%. This work provides a simple paradigm for facile and finely controlled synthesis of well-shaped 1D-based composite photocatalysts towards boosted solar energy conversion. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.