For a correct maintenance of the constructions it is essential to proceed in an investigative way, in order to obtain the causes that should be the basis of an assertive intervention. This study aims to present a review of the current state of the art in Brazil, regarding infrared thermography as a non - destructive test in civil constructions as a whole, in order to build a panorama of the advances of this technology in the country. At the beginning, recent national and international papers were selected. Next, a narrative review was carried out, systematizing the concepts and results obtained in each study analyzed. With the data organized, it was observed that in Brazil the researches stand out in the detection of problems in façades and, because it is a technology that has been developed in a short time, still lacks studies that ground deeper the analyzes, than in some cases, can be highly complex.