Water contamination is a critical and severe issue all over the world. The nano-based particles have the potency to overcome water contamination. In the present work, CuO and Ag/CuO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by Cyperus pangorei extract using the co-precipitation method. The plant extract acts as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The purpose of plant extract is to reduce the negative impact of the synthesis method and its derivatives. The Ag+ and Cu+ reduction were confirmed through the surface plasmon resonance in the DRS spectrum. The bandgap decreasing is informed that the results have opted in the optical and catalytical applications. CuO bandgap is higher than the Ag/CuO NPs (∆Eg = 0.55 eV) reveals the Ag/CuO NPs have remarkable optical and catalytic applications. The NPs crystalline nature and size were analyzed by XRD. SEM and TEM analyses characterized the morphology and size variation of the CuO and Ag/CuO NPs. The EDX analysis analyzed the composition of the elements in the synthesized NPs. The FTIR analysis was performed to confirm the possible functional groups of plant extract involved in chemical reduction and bondings. Copper and silver metals and oxygen valencies and binding energies were examined by XPS. Occasionally, contagious diseases shake the world and affected human healthiness because of their pathogenic activity. Mostly, they are resolved by nanoparticles. The biosynthesized CuO and Ag/CuO NPs were performed against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus—S. aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli—E. coli) bacteria. The results showed better activity in E. coli compared to S. aureus in both CuO and Ag/CuO NPs. The photocatalytic activity of CuO and Ag/CuO NPs were analyzed against Rhodamine B (Rh-B) dye under visible light irradiation. The metallic Ag-doped with CuO NPs improves the catalytic compared to pure CuO NPs. The pseudo-first-order kinetics were found to increase the rate of dye degradation by adding Ag ions to the CuO surface. The advanced oxidation process would increase the electron–hole pair activity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. The AOP photocatalyst is widely used to remove the toxicity of wastewater. There is no secondary product formation and rich activated electrons. The obtained results indicate the CuO and Ag/CuO NPs may further use in wastewater treatment and biomedical applications.