•SATIR tests on DEMO divertor fingers (integrating or not He cooling system).•Millimeter size artificial defects were manufactured.•Detectability of millimeter size artificial defects was evaluated.•SATIR can detect defect in DEMO divertor fingers.•Simulations are well correlated to SATIR tests. Plasma facing components (PFCs) with tungsten (W) armor materials for DEMO divertor require a high heat flux removal capability (at least 10MW/m2 in steady-state conditions). The reference divertor PFC concept is a finger with a tungsten tile as a protection and sacrificial layer brazed to a thimble made of tungsten alloy W – 1% La2O3 (WL10). Defects may be located at the W thimble to W tile interface. As the number of fingers is considerable (>250,000), it is then a major issue to develop a reliable control procedure in order to control with a non-destructive examination the fabrication processes. The feasibility for detecting defect with infrared thermography SATIR test bed is presented. SATIR is based on the heat transient method and is used as an inspection tool in order to assess component heat transfer capability. SATIR tests were performed on fingers integrating or not the complex He cooling system (steel cartridge with jet holes). Millimeter size artificial defects were manufactured and their detectability was evaluated. Results of this study demonstrate that the SATIR method can be considered as a relevant non-destructive technique examination for the defect detection of DEMO divertor fingers.