Photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes under visible light and ultraviolet radiation is an efficient strategy for effluent treatment. This work describes the design of novel Cu(II) complexes using the ligand N'-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzylidene)nicotinohydrazide and their application in the photocatalytic degradation of the organic dye, methylene blue (MB). The photocatalytic degradation of MB follows pseudo first-order kinetics with high correlation coefficient values (R2> 0.95), making them useful as simple and low-cost organic dye degradation agents. The antibacterial screening studies of the ligand and the Cu(II) complexes by disc diffusion method show the systems to exhibit activity against Escherichia coli (gram negative) and Bacillus circulans (gram positive).