Research into displacement cascade processes in alloy systems has received little attention, yet is potentially of interest because issuessuch as the effect of solutes on the displacement threshold and the defectdistribution and movement in cascades are important. As part of a widerstudy, we have initially considered the minor substitutional solute Au in a Cu matrix, and have used molecular dynamics to investigate the properties of point defects, the threshold displacement energy Ed, and temporal and spatial distribution of defects in low-energy (≤500 eV) displacement cascades. The results show that the influence of the solute on the properties of defects is important and that Edis dramatically different from its form in pure copper. In comparison with pure copper,the recoil of the Au solute gives rise to a higher peak at longer timesin the number of displaced atoms in the generation of a displacement cascade. The influence of this on defect density in the cascade and thefinal number and arrangement of defects has been investigated.