Display omitted •Dinuclear non-noble catalysts for water oxidation and CO2 reduction are reviewed.•The synergistic effects in dinuclear non-noble catalysts are emphasized.•Present limitations and possible perspective for the further progress are discussed. The realization of artificial photosynthesis is of intense interest as it can be an effective solution to relieve the energy crisis. Besides hydrogen evolution and some organic oxidation reactions, water oxidation and CO2 reduction reactions are two crucial alternative half-reactions that can be coupled to form a classic artificial photosynthetic system. Both of them are energy-demanding and thus show slow reaction rates without appropriate catalysts. Dinuclear non-noble metal complexes are promising candidates as bio-inspired mediators to facilitate both reactions through the potential synergistic catalytic effect between two metal sites. In this Review, key advancements in dinuclear non-noble metal complexes as the molecular catalysts for water oxidation and CO2 reduction reactions have been highlighted to provide a future perspective.