The production of 123I via photonuclear reactions has been studied both theoretically and experimentally. A facility for producing 123I by photonuclear reaction on natural xenon at an electron linac of 200MeV in National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
USTC was established and described in the paper. Some research results
such as the 123I yield
γ -ray spectrum of iodine isotopes
nuclear purity
and chemical purity
were given. The experimental results show that 123I yield of 18.5GBq will be possible if average current is increased to 6 u A. a pure 124Xe (100%) target is used instead of the natural xenon and the gas target thickness reaches to 6g/cm2.