In light weight structures the joining of composite materials and of composites to metals are key technologies. A manufacturing method associated with joining is the drilling of holes. The hole creation in CRFP through drilling is associated with several defects related to the process, both on the entry and exit sides of the hole and also with dimensional and surface roughness issues of the hole wall. The detection of damage due to the process is not trivial. Especially interesting is non-destructive methods. In this work X-ray computed tomography is used to determine defects due to drilling of holes in a CFRP composite using twist drills with different geometrical features at different drilling parameters. The results can be used to establish relationship between different geometrical features of drills in combination with cutting parameters and resulting surface integrity of holes. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.