Display omitted •Synthesized Ta3N5 and V–Ta3N5 successfully converted CO2 to valuable fuels.•V dopant enhanced electron–hole separation and prolonged its lifetime.•V–Ta3N5 exhibited great increases in light adsorption and decreases in band gap energy.•V–Ta3N5 reduced CO2 and H2O vapor to CH4, CO, O2, and H2 even under visible light.•A V/Ta ratio of 2wt.% was optimal for enhancing the photocatalytic activity of Ta3N5. In this study, Ta3N5 and V-doped Ta3N5 (V–Ta3N5) were synthesized as catalysts for the conversion of CO2 into valuable fuels under visible light. As compared with Ta2O5, the synthesized Ta3N5 and V–Ta3N5 exhibited great increases in visible light adsorption and decreases in band gap energy. Therefore, the synthesized Ta3N5 and V–Ta3N5 photocatalytically converted CO2 into CO and CH4 even under visible light. The V dopants, which existed in the Ta3N5 lattice, could act as an intermediate band (V3d) between the valence band (N2p) and the conduction band (Ta5d) of the Ta3N5 to increase the electron–hole separation efficiency of the photocatalyst. Thus, the photocatalytic activity of V–Ta3N5 was much higher than that of Ta3N5. However, an increase in the V doping ratio led the formation of VN particles distributed on the Ta3N5 surface. The formed particles eclipsed the light reaching the photocatalyst surface, resulted in a decrease in photocatalytic activity. The optimal V doping ratio in V–Ta3N5 was found to be 2wt.%. As a result, the production rates of CH4, CO, O2, and H2 generated from the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 by 2wt.% V–Ta3N5 under visible light were 425, 236, 1003, and 56µmolg−1cath−1, respectively.