In the present work, monoclinic bismuth vanadate (m-BiVO4) nanostructures have been synthesized via simple hydrothermal method and employed for visible light driven antimicrobial and photocatalytic activity. Morphology (octahedral) and size (200-300 nm) of the m-BiVO4 are studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The crystal structure of m-BiVO4 (monoclinic scheelite structure) is confirmed by high resolution-TEM (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The band gap of m-BiVO4 was estimated to be ca. 2.42 eV through Kubellca-Munk function F(R infinity) using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Antimicrobial action of m-BiVO4 is anticipated by (i) shake flask method, (ii) MIT [3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide] assay for cytotoxicity. SEM analysis has been carried on Escherichia coli (E. coli) before and after treatment with nanostructure materials to reveal the mechanism underlying the antimicrobial action. Antimicrobial activity is studied as a function of m-BiVO4 concentration viz. 20, 40, 60 and 80 ppm. The bacterial growth is decreased 80% to 96%, with the increase in m-BiVO4 concentration from 20 ppm to 80 ppm, respectively, in 2 h. Photocatalytic activity and rate kinetics of m-BiVO4 nanostructures have been studied as a function of time on methylene blue (MB) dye degradation which is one of the waste products of textile industries and responsible for water pollution. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.