The objective of this study is to investigate performance characteristics of a household refrigerator using a two-stage compression cycle. The performance of the two-stage compression cycle was measured by varying the compressor speed, condensing temperature, and evaporating temperature. The COP of the two-stage compression cycle was analyzed and then compared with that of the single-stage compression cycle. The optimum combination of compressor speeds for a low- and a high-stage was determined. The COP of the two-stage compression cycle using a PTC (parallel two-stage compression) method was 5.85% higher than that of a STC (serial two-stage compression) method at optimum operating conditions.