In this paper, R23, R41 and R170 are used in the low-temperature cycle (LTC) and R32, R1234yf, R1234ze, R161, R1270, R290 and R717 are used in the high-temperature cycle (HTC) refrigerant in cascade refrigeration system (CRS). In order to evaluate the potential of refrigerant and find out which refrigerant couple performs better in CRS, energy and exergy analysis were conducted to investigate the effect of operation parameters. The results show that R161 is recommended for use in HTC, and R41 and R170 are recommended for use in LTC. In the 28 refrigerant groups studied, R41/12161 and R170/R161 are recommended used in CRS and the use of R41 /R161 in CRS is superior to other refrigerants in improving COP and thermodynamic performance when the evaporation temperature is about higher than -60 degrees C. The largest exergy destruction component is condenser. Therefore, the future optimization work can be carried out on the condenser. The results provide a theoretical basis for the selection of low-GWP refrigerant couples in CRS. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.