Abstract The refrigeration performance parameters of two binary azeotropic mixtures of R170 + R23 and R170 + R116 and a ternary azeotropic mixture of R170 + R23 + R116 were measured systematically in the low-stage loop of a two-stage cascade system. In addition, the performance of the currently used R508B refrigerant was also measured at similar conditions for comparison. A two-stage cascade refrigeration testing apparatus was designed and assembled, in which an R404A system was used as the high-temperature refrigeration stage. Thermodynamic performance parameters of the low-stage loop such as the coefficient of performance (COP), cooling capacity, and the discharge temperature of these four mixtures were measured at various condensation and evaporating temperatures. The results show that the COP of the R170 + R116 binary mixture is up to 10% higher than that of R508B. These mixtures show good potential as low-temperature stage refrigerants for applications in the −80 °C temperature range.