The work presented in this thesis focuses on the development and application of a non-destructive and innovative technique for the characterization of materials. The primary objective is the measurement of thermal diffusivity through active thermography, employing a laser as a controlled heat source and an infrared camera for temperature field acquisition. The method was validated during an internship carried out at the J-Tech laboratory of Politecnico di Torino, where experimental activities allowed for its application and assessment on different materials. An initial section of the thesis is devoted to a comprehensive review of the state of the art, where existing techniques for thermal diffusivity measurement are presented and discussed in a chronological and comparative framework.