A novel polymorph of β-AgBiW 2 O 8 was prepared for the first time by a simple arc melting method. β-AgBiW 2 O 8 belongs to the scheelite structure type and can be described with Ag/Bi bisdisphenoids and WO 4 tetrahedra. The main peak in diffuse reflectance spectroscopy measurements reveal absorption of blue light. In this work, we report a novel polymorph of AgBiW 2 O 8 , which was synthesized by a simple arc melting method. The structural details of this compound were determined by X-ray powder diffraction, and elemental composition was confirmed with ICP-AES. β-AgBiW 2 O 8 adopts the scheelite structure type with tetragonal space group I 4 1 /a and lattice parameters a = b = 5.3019(3) and c = 11.678(2) Å. Structural details and optical properties are discussed in detail. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) measurements of β-AgBiW 2 O 8 showed light absorption profile extended to the visible region, which suggests the material has a smaller band gap energy than Bi 2 WO 6 , as expected due to contribution of Ag d-orbitals to the electronic structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]