The sound quality characteristics of refrigerator noise in an anechoic chamber and in a real living environment for 30 models of refrigerators were investigated. Subjective evaluation experiments were conducted to determine subjective tolerance level for refrigerator noise. Refrigerator noise was played from a loudspeaker at the position normally occupied by a refrigerator in a real living environment. A nine-point scale was used to measure subjective satisfaction of the sound pressure levels for refrigerator noise. Point 3 on the scale corresponded to a sound pressure level of about 30 dB(A). Seventy percent of the participants were satisfied with this level of refrigerator noise. A semantic differential test was also conducted to evaluate the sound quality of refrigerator noise. From the results of correlation and multiple regression analyses on the psychoacoustical parameters and subjective evaluations of 30 refrigerators, sound quality indices which predict the subjective rating score were proposed.