CdS nanowires-nitrogen doped graphene （CdS NWs-NGR） nanocomposites have been fabricated by an electrostatic self-assembly strategy followed by a hydrothermal reduction. The CdS NWs-NGR exhibits higher photoactivity for selective reduction of aromatic nitro organics in water under visible light irradiation than blank CdS nanowires （CdS NWs） and CdS nanowires-reduced graphene oxide （CdS NWs-RGO） nanocomposites. The enhanced photoactivity of CdS NWs-NGR can be attributed to the improved electronic conductivity due to the introduc- tion of nitrogen atoms, which thus enhances the separation and transfer of charge carriers photogenerated from CdS NWs. Our work could provide a facile method to synthesize NGR based one-dimensional （1D） semiconductor composites for selective organic transformations, and broaden the potential applications for NGR as a cocatalyst.