The segmental design method is employed to accurately capture the drastic variations of properties in the supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) recuperator. The local heat capacity flow rates of both fluids have drastic changes in sub-heat exchangers even the mass flow rates of both fluids remain unchanged. When the heat duty is given, the local heat conductance, local temperature difference, local effectiveness and local entransy dissipation number have extremums, which appear in the vicinity of the heat capacity rate ratio is one. The heat transfer performance of recuperator improves at the expense of heat conductance. When the total heat conductance is fixed, there exist the maximum local heat flux rates, and the local effectiveness tends to be constant after the local heat capacity rate ratio reaches one, the local entransy dissipation number has the relatively coherent performance behavior in the sub-heat exchangers. The local heat capacity rate ratio has crucial influences on the heat transfer performance of recuperator, and the design parameters must be considered carefully in the design of S-CO2 recuperator. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.