In this paper, the refrigerant HFC-161 as an alternative refrigerant to HFC-410A is presented in a small scale refrigeration system. Theoretical cycle performances of HFC-410A, HFC-32 and HFC-161 are calculated and analyzed under the rated working condition. The results show that the COP of HFC-161 is 10.0% and 17.8% higher than that of HFC-32 and HFC-410A, respectively, and the discharge temperature of HFC-161 is the lowest among these refrigerants. Experimental tests were also performed on a vapor-compression refrigeration system with a rotor compressor which was originally designed for HFC-410A to compare the cycle performance of the HFC-410A, HFC-32 and HFC-161 under different working conditions. Experimental results show that the HFC-161 can achieve higher COP by 15-25% than HFC-410A and HFC-32, and the discharging temperature of HFC-161 is much lower than that of HFC-410A and HFC-32. The power consumption and cooling capacity of HFC-161 are the smallest among these refrigerants. The cooling capacity and COP of HFC-32 is very similar to those of HFC-410A, but discharging temperature and power consumption of HFC-32 are slightly higher those of HFC-410A under most working conditions. These results show that HFC-161 is a promising alternative refrigerant to HFC-410A for small-scale refrigeration systems, which supply a very valuable reference for the actual system of HFC-161. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.