A lithographic apparatus is provided that includes an illumination system for conditioning a beam of radiation, and a support for supporting a patterning device. The patterning device serves to impart the beam of radiation with a pattern in its cross-section. The apparatus also includes a substrate table for holding a substrate, a projection system for projecting the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate, an isolated reference frame for providing a reference surface, and a measuring system for measuring the substrate with respect to the reference surface. The reference frame includes a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion of greater than about 2.9×10−6/K.