Reed-type valve is widely used in refrigeration compressor; its dynamic performance directly affects the energy efficiency of compressors. In order to reveal the motion law of the reed-type valve of refrigeration compressor, a dynamic model based on vibration theory is established. According to the actual movement characteristics of the reed valve, the motion process of the reed is divided into two stages (i.e. before the reed bending to the limiter and after the reed bending to the limiter). The one-degree-of-freedom system is used to model before the valve reed bending to the limiter, and the vibration theory of Euler–Bernoulli beam is used to model after the reed bending to the limiter. The fourth-order Runge–Kutta method is applied to solve the new model in the MATLAB environment. In order to verify the validity of the new model, dynamic performance experiments of discharge reed valve at various operating conditions were carried out. The predicted results of the new model, the basic valve theory model and the cantilever beam model are compared with the experimental results. The analysis of error band and root mean square error shows that the calculation results of the new model can more accurately reveal the motion law of reed valve than that of other two models. Then, the effects of valve lift, reed stiffness and compressor speed on the valve dynamics and pressure loss are analyzed. This research can provide a reference for optimizing the structure parameters of reed-type valve and improving the energy efficiency of compressors.