The prototype of combined vapour compression-absorption refrigeration system was set up, where a gas engine drove directly an open screw compressor in a vapour compression refrigeration chiller and waste heat from the gas engine was used to operate absorption refrigeration cycle. The experimental procedure and results showed that the combined refrigeration system was feasible. The cooling capacity of the prototype reached about 589 kW at the Chinese rated conditions of air conditioning (the inlet and outlet temperatures of chilled water are 12 and 7 degrees C, the inlet and outlet temperatures of cooling water are 30 and 35 degrees C, respectively). Primary energy rate (PER) and comparative primary energy saving were used to evaluate energy utilization efficiency of the combined refrigeration system. The calculated results showed that the PER of the prototype was about 1.81 and the prototype saved more than 25% of primary energy compared to a conventional electrically driven vapour compression refrigeration unit. Error analysis showed that the total error of the combined cooling system measurement was about 4.2% in this work. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.