Synthesis of Cu3V2O8 nanorods using the hydrothermal method by varying the reaction time from 6 h to 18 h. The resulting brown powder samples underwent X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), UV–Visible analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses. XRD analysis reveals that peak intensity increases and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) decreases with increasing reaction times. The bandgap values were measured as 2.2 eV, 2.1 eV, and 2.4 eV for Cu3V2O8 nanorods synthesized with a reaction time of 6, 12, and 18 h, respectively. Morphological examination indicates well-developed nanorods at 18 h. This Cu3V2O8 nanorod showed degradation efficiencies of 69 %, 46 %, 62 %, and 73 % for Methylene Blue, Methyl Orange, Methyl Red, and Brilliant Blue dyes, respectively. This improvement in photocatalytic efficiency is attributed to Cu3V2O8 nanorods, for electrons and holes play a major role. In radical trapping experiments, it was observed that h+ radicals predominantly in the photocatalytic activity of Cu3V2O8 nanorods. Additionally, through regeneration studies, the repeatable usability of Cu3V2O8 nanorods as a catalyst was also analyzed. The results suggest that Cu3V2O8 nanorods could serve as an efficient photocatalyst for reducing organic pollutants and managing wastewater.