We measured the impact toughness of three alloys (Mg, Mg-0.3 at%Ca-0.6 at%Zn, and Mg-0.3 at%Ca-0.6 at %Al) by the impact three-point bending test The plastic deformability and impact toughness were higher in the ternary alloys than in pure Mg. The generalized stacking fault energy and grain boundary cohesive energy were estimated by first-principles calculations for Mg, binary Mg-Ca, ternary Mg-Ca-Zn, and ternary Mg-Ca-Al alloys. The calculation results agreed with the trend in the experimental results. We suggest that addition of Ca along with Zn or Al reduced plastic anisotropy and strengthened the grain boundaries, leading to higher in impact toughness of Mg alloys. (C) 2015 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.