Abstract Polyurethane/Cu composite coatings with low infrared emissivity near to 0.10 at the wavelength of 8–14 μm were prepared by a simple and convenient process. The influences of the content of Cu powder, surface roughness, coating thickness and temperature on infrared emissivity of the coatings were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the emissivity decreases significantly with increasing content of Cu powder and coating thickness. The coatings with smooth surface exhibit lower emissivity values than those with rough coatings. Moreover, we found the relationship between the emissivity of coatings and temperature presents a “U” type, and the emissivity reaches to the minimum at about 380 K. The mechanisms of low emissivity were proposed by optical theories, which are found to be in a good agreement with the experimental results.