Photocatalytic degradation of phenol and benzoic acid in aqueous solution was studied using zinc oxide (ZnO) powder synthesized by sol–gel process. Synthesized catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area, pHpzc, and the band gap of the catalyst samples were also measured. The influence of various key parameters such as amount of photocatalyst, initial solution pH, and the initial concentration of phenol and benzoic acid was investigated