Photochemical degradation of crude oil in seawater is an important issue in marine environmental protection and is studied in this work. Results showed that petroleum hydrocarbons could be effectively degraded by the irradiation of high-pressure mercury light or natural sunlight. Photochemical reaction was controlled by various factors including light source, aquatic medium, heavy metal ion and photo-sensitizer. The rate of photo-degradation was fast at the initial stage of exposure, exhibiting a first-order reaction kinetic behavior. However, after irradiation for a few hours, the concentration of water-soluble fraction (WSF) of petroleum hydrocarbons stabilized. For all experimental conditions, the range of the photo-degradation rate is from 0.001 3 to 0.005 7/min.