In recent years, covalent organic framework (COFs) has emerged as a new class due to the high structural designability and functional tunability. The purpose of this review article is to present the latest and most significant applications with photo-responsive COFs as photo-catalysts. At the first, the subjects containing of bottom-up, post modification and blending techniques were investigated to form composites based on COFs. This review provided a comprehensive overview of the synthesis strategy of COFs. There are the synthesis strategies to synthesize COFs, including solvothermal, microwave, the microwave-assisted solvothermal synthesis, sonochemical, ionothermal, mechanochemical, light promoted and one-pot methods. Additionally, based on three methods including reactive skeletons, reactive pendant groups and reactive metals, COF-based catalysts were designed to apply in various fields. So, it confirmed that photocatalytic performance as metal-free and metalCOFs photocatalysts was developed by doping metal ions and metal NPs. In this review, some viewpoints of metal- COF photocatalysts as heterogeneous photocatalysts, discussed the applications in reactions' products, Suzuki-Miyaura reactions, Heck cross-coupling reaction, olefins reactions, energy conversion. Additionally, in the review, the photo-based applications of the COFs, MOFs@COFs' composites and metal composites based on COFs were investigated in photo-degradation of pollutants. At last, COF was used as a photocatalytic nicotinamide cofactor regeneration. C1 [Gharanli, Sajjad] Univ Qom, Fac Engn, Dept Chem Engn, Qom, Iran. [Malekshah, Rahime Eshaghi; Shahi, Mehrnaz] Semnan Univ, Dept Chem, Semnan, Iran. [Moharramnejad, Mojtaba; Ehsani, Ali] Univ Qom, Fac Sci, Dept Chem, Qom, Iran. [Moharramnejad, Mojtaba] Univ Qom, Young Researcher & Elite Grp, Qom, Iran. [Joshaghani, Ali Hassani] Islamic Azad Univ, Dept Chem Engn, Arak Branch, Arak, Iran. [Amini, Ali hossein] Golrang Ind Grp GIG, Golrang Pharmaceut Investment Co GPI, Soroush Mana Pharmed, Tehran, Iran. [Haribabu, Jebiti] Univ Atacama, Fac Med, Carreras 1579, Copiapo 1532502, Chile. [Haribabu, Jebiti] Chennai Inst Technol, Chennai 600069, India. [Istifli, Erman Salih] Cukurova Univ, Fac Sci & Literature, Dept Biol, TR-01330 Adana, Turkiye. [Tehrani, Firoozeh Kavosh] Univ Isfahan, Dept Chem, Polymer Chem Res Lab, Esfahan 8174673441, Iran. C3 University of Qom; Semnan University; University of Qom; University of Qom; Islamic Azad University; Universidad de Atacama; Chennai Institute of Technology; Cukurova University; University of Isfahan