The Stirling cycle machines have many applications as prime mover and cooling purpose. A review is presented for the development of regenerative Stirling cycle machines in the refrigeration area. The Stirling cycle refrigerators of gas cycle machines, which are the counterparts of the Stirling engines. They can operate from low temperature to moderate temperature applications. The present paper describes an overview of the Stirling refrigerating machine and its associated researches carried out in this area.Initially, the review explains the general working principle, the configuration and the drive mechanisms as well as the research findings within the range from low-temperature cryocoolers to moderate temperature cooling applications. Furthermore, this review points out and discusses the various models and methods of optimization to improve the performance of the Stirling cycle refrigerator.