Due to less environmental impact, the CO2 booster refrigeration system has been widely applied in the modern supermarket as a substitute for the conventional R404A multiplex system. However, the performance efficiency of the CO2 system still requires further improvement in order to save energy; thus, one of the most efficient techniques would be to investigate and employ the optimal controls for refrigerant high side pressures at various operating states. In this paper, the possible parameters affecting system efficiency of the CO2 system in the transcritical cycle at a higher ambient air temperature are identified through thermodynamic analysis, but cannot be quantified mathematically because of the high non-linearity involved. Instead, sensitive analyses of the system by means of the thermodynamic model is used to examine the effects of parameters including high side refrigerant pressure, ambient air temperature, refrigerant intermediate pressure, and medium and low evaporating temperatures, superheating, effectiveness of suction line heat exchanger, and compressor efficiency on system performance. Consequently, the optimal high side pressure in the transcritical cycle is established and derived as a function of three important parameters consisting of ambient air temperature, the effectiveness of suction line heat exchanger and compressor efficiency. In addition, optimal operating parameters such as the intermediate pressure are also proposed to improve the system performance. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.