Abstract: The quantitative infrared thermography, as a non-destructive, full-field, real-time and non-contact measurement technique, can not only be used to detect the internal defect of materials, but also can identify the fatigue damage evolution of structures in situ. Moreover, it can also be applied to rapidly predict the fatigue limit and the S-N (stress-number of cycles) curve of materials in a short test period with a low cost. This paper systematically reviews the current development and applications of the quantitative infrared thermography, and discusses some important problems in this research field. Finally, the future development and application of the quantitative infrared thermography are discussed.