Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were immobilized on polyurethane foam (PUF) and employed for the degradation of Acid black 1 dye (AB1). The ZnO/PUF was characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) techniques. Process variables i.e., dye concentration, pH, concentration of H 2 O 2 , irradiation time were optimized for maximum degradation of dye. ZnO/PUF showed promising efficiency for the degradation of AB1 dye and up to 86% and 65% dye degradation was achieved under UV and solar light irradiation at neutral pH, 4% H 2 O 2 , 240 min/sunlight and 75 min/UV irradiation time using 40 mg l −1 dye initial concentration. The optimum conditions were applied for the treatment of textile wastewater and biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total organic carbon (TOC) were reduced up to 70% and 80%, respectively. In view of promising photocatalytic activity (PCA), ZnO/PUF could possibly be used for the treatment of wastewater contains dyes.