Massive production of hydrogen by water decomposition triggered by a solar light active photocatalyst is a major objective in chemistry and a promising avenue to overcome the global energy crisis. The development of efficient, stable, economically viable and eco-friendly photocatalysts for hydrogen production is a challenging task. This article reviews the use of nanocomposite in three combinations: metal oxide–metal oxide semiconductor, metal–metal oxide semiconductor and metal chalcogenide–metal oxide core–shell nanostructures. These core–shell structures occur in two forms: a simple form where the photocatalyst is either in the core or the shell or in a more complex system where the core–shell structure comprises a co-catalyst deposited on a semiconducting material. We discuss the design, synthesis and development of semiconductor-based nanocomposite photocatalysts for hydrogen production. The major points are the role of catalytic active sites, the chemical nature of sacrificial agents, the effect of light sources, the variable light intensity and the energy efficiency calculation. For TiO
2-based nanocomposites, the metal oxide or metal co-catalyst loading of 1.0–3.0 wt% was optimal. TiO
2 nanotube–CuO hybrid nanocomposites produce 1,14,000 µmol h
?1 \({\text{g}}^{ - 1}_{\text{cat}}\), whereas TiO
2/Au nanocomposites display 1,60,000 µmol h
?1 \({\text{g}}^{ - 1}_{\text{cat}}\). For core–shell catalysts, a shell thickness of 2–20 nm was found for the best activity, and its performance is as follows: (a) CdS–NiO system produces around 19,949 µmol h
?1 \({\text{g}}^{ - 1}_{\text{cat}}\) and (b) CuO–Cr
2O
3 as co-catalyst immobilized on TiO
2 system produces around 82,390 µmol h
?1 \({\text{g}}^{ - 1}_{\text{cat}}\).
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