To meet the requirements for sustainable development, photocatalytic applications including water splitting, CO2 reduction, pollutant degradation, and organic conversion reactions have become hot topics for research, due to the predictable advantages of energy storage and transportation. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) featured with porosity, crystallinity, and tunable constitution offer enormous potential in photocatalytic applications. Herein, a critical overview of MOFs-based photocatalysts is presented. Following a concise introduction of the structural characteristics of MOFs, the synthesis methods of MOFs-based photocatalysts are summarized. Moreover, subtle modification strategies for MOFs inspired by the development of other inorganic photocatalysts are also discussed on the basis of the photocatalytic mechanisms of light absorption, electron transfer, and surface catalytic reactions. Furthermore, the applications of certain MOFs-based photocatalysts are introduced in detail. In addition, other organic frameworks-based photocatalytic materials, such as covalent organic frameworks and covalent triazine frameworks, are also described to provide a guided insight into the rational design and fabrication of efficient frameworks-based photocatalysts. Finally, a brief conclusion and perspective on the opportunities and challenges for the future development of MOFs-based photocatalysts are proposed.