We describe here the impact of tempering temperature and tempering time on the microstructure and mechanical property in a low carbon Nb–Cu microalloyed steel via a three-step heat treatment. After tempering process, the microstructure primarily comprised of ferrite, retained austenite and tempered bainite/martensite. The ferrite matrix with ultrafine grain size was film-like and enriched with nanometer-sized niobium-containing and copper precipitates. The volume fraction of ferrite increased with the increase in tempering temperature and tempering time. Retained austenite had average grain size less than 1μm and was enriched with copper precipitates that contributes to enhance the stability of austenite. The retained austenite revealed high thermal stability and remained stable in the range of 20–30% when tempering temperature and time changed. High strength and good ductility were obtained in the tempering temperature range of 450–550°C, or by prolonging tempering time at 500°C, where the yield strength was ~750MPa and the product of tensile strength and % elongation was ~32GPa%, which is attributed to the cooperation of multiphase microstructure, stable retained austenite and nanometer-sized precipitates.