[en] Highlights: • A photo-enhanced strategy is developed to boost the oxygen reduction activity. • Au-Pd-Pt NRs with strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption are synthesized. • The mass activity could reach 2.56 A mg⁻¹_Pt at 0.9 V versus RHE. • 2.2-fold enhancement is obtained only with the visible-light energy. Platinum (Pt) has been recognized as the most efficient catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). So far, great efforts have been devoted to enhance the ORR activity of Pt by alloying or surface engineering, however, little effect has been devoted to utilizing solar energy to boost the ORR catalysis. Herein a photo-enhanced strategy is developed to improve the ORR activity of Pt with plasmonic nano-cores. Au-Pd-Pt NRs with strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption are synthesized and Pd serves as the buffer layer. Upon visible-light irradiation, the mass and specific activities over Au-Pd-Pt NRs/C could reach 2.56 A mg⁻¹_Pt and 3.57 mA cm⁻² at 0.9 V versus RHE, which is 25.6 and 27.5 times higher than those of commercial Pt/C; notably, 2.2-fold enhancement is obtained only with the visible-light energy. These studies may open new avenues to further improve the ORR activity with light energy as a driving force.