Selective laser melting (SLM) enables production of highly intricate components. From this point of view, the capabilities of this technology are known to the industry and have been demonstrated in numerous applications. Nonetheless, for serial production purposes the manufacturing industry has so far been reluctant in substituting its conventional methods with SLM. One underlying reason is the lack of simple and reliable process monitoring methods. This study examines the feasibility of using thermography for process monitoring. To this end, an infra-red (IR) camera was mounted off-axis to monitor and record the temperature of every layer. The recorded temperature curves are analysed and interpreted with respect to different stages of the process. Furthermore, the possibility of detecting variations in laser settings by means of thermography is demonstrated. The results show that once thermal patterns are identified, this data can be utilized for in-process and post-process monitoring of SLM production.