Abstract The constantly growing demand for natural resources has made the Arctic region, which holds approximately 20% of estimated world oil and gas reserves, an attractive area for exploitation. Since a great variety of ocean-going vessels are used in oil and gas production, ice shrinkage caused by global warming has further encouraged growth in the Arctic offshore and shipbuilding sectors. However, taking into account the harsh Arctic environment, the reliability of offshore structures and ships is of high importance. One of the major factors influencing the reliability of an offshore structure is material selection. The purpose of this paper is to examine how alloying elements influence the low-temperature properties of steels. The paper in particular, looks at Charpy impact test results on steel at low temperatures. The effects of carbon, manganese, sulphur, phosphorus, aluminium, nitrogen, nickel and other alloying elements in the chemical composition of steels are discussed. This paper not only helps the shipbuilding and offshore industries obtain a clear understanding of the effect of alloying elements used in steels for low-temperature service, but also provides recommendations on the amount of alloying elements needed to achieve certain properties.