In this study, specimens were prepared which have some defects on the buttweld joint of mild steel. In order to detect the defects of specimens, the following tests were put to : AUT and RT. When the results of the three tests were compared, the conclusion could be brought to as follows. 1) AUT outstrips RT in the abillity to detect plane defects like slags or cracks, but RT excels AUT in the ability to detect spheroidal defects like blowholes. 2) RT detects neither taper cracks nor very closed cracks, whereas AUT detects both of them. 3) AUT can detect at once plane defects like cracks and spheroidal defects like blowholes.