Magnetic refrigeration is potentially a highly efficient and high power density technology because the magnetization process on which it is based is essentially reversible and the volumetric heat capacity of the refrigerant is very high. Large magnetic fields produced by superconducting magnets are needed to most effectively couple to the magnetic entropy. Thus magnetic refrigeration is both a promising technology for cooling superconducting magnetic systems and a promizing application of superconducting magnets.Several magnetic refrigeration devices under development by Astronautics using conventional NbTi magnets will be described. The system advantages of incorporating high‐temperature superconducting magnets in these designs will be discussed. The nature of the Active Magnetic Regenerative (AMR) cycle used in these devices and the requirements for the refrigerant will also be explained.