A series of (La 1−x Gd x ) 1.4 Ca 1.6 Mn 2 O 7 (x=0–0.1) compounds were prepared by solid state reaction. With the increase of Gd content, Curie temperature decreases from 259K to 192K. These compounds show constant magnetic entropy changes (ΔS M ) of 3.0–3.1J/kgK in the field of 1T. In their composite materials, a plateau in ΔS M with enhanced refrigerant capacity can be obtained, indicating that they are advantageous for an Ericsson refrigeration cycle. In addition, they have other advantages such as negligible magnetic hysteresis, small eddy loss, and high chemical stability. These properties make (La 1−x Gd x ) 1.4 Ca 1.6 Mn 2 O 7 good candidate for the practical magnetic refrigeration.