The electrical transport processes of zinc telluride (ZnTe) uniformly dispersed in reduced graphene oxide matrix (RGO-ZnTe composite) were investigated. It is observed from DC measurements that the charge transport process is consistent with Mott three dimensional variable range hopping (3D-VRH) in 85 K–280 K, confirmed by resistance curve derivative analysis (RCDA) method. AC conductivity indicates a Debye-like relaxation process caused by quantum mechanical tunneling (QMT) between localized sites in 90 K–473 K range. Magnetization data of RGO-ZnTe composite from SQUID and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra show paramagnetic behaviour in 5 K–330 K despite the diamagnetism of pure RGO and ZnTe at room temperature. In photosensitivity, one order enhancement was observed in the RGO-ZnTe composite alongside three times higher reduction rate constant in photoreduction of aqueous pollutant 4-nitrophenol as compared to pure ZnTe. These significant increases in photocurrent and photoreduction efficiencies are attributed to dispersion of ZnTe on the 2D RGO surface indicating the synergy of ZnTe nanoparticle with RGO sheets.