 Abstract porous structures offer highly accessible surfaces and rich pores which facilitate the exposure of numerous active sites for photocatalytic reactions leading to excellent performances. Recently, metal organic frameworks and MOFs have been considered ideal precursors for well-designed semiconductors with porous structures and or hetero structures which have shown enhanced photocatalytic activities. In this review, we summarized the recent development of porous structures such as metal oxides and metal sulfides and their hetero structures derived from MOF-based materials as catalysts for various light-driven energy-slash-environment related reactions including water splitting, CO2 reduction, organic redox reaction, and pollution degradation. A summary and outlook section is also included. This article was authored by Wanlin Zhang, Lining Sun, and Shi Guanghan.