Abstract: In the research, the finite element models of ultrasonic TOFD testing of austenitic stainless steel welds are established to investigate the anisotropic characteristics of wave propagation, and then, the distribution method of probes for reducing the interference of weld scattering noise is proposed. The results show that the finite element model can be used for simulating the wave distortion, acoustic energy scattering and attenuation in the austenitic stainless steel welds. The experimental results proves that the adverse effects of weld structure on the testing signal can be reduced by choosing the detection surface, which is in consistence with the numerical simulation.