The chance that an auditor will not find material misstatements relating to an assertion in an entity's financial statements through substantive tests and analysis. Detection risk is the risk that the auditor will conclude that no material errors are present when in fact there are. Detection risk is one of the three elements that comprise audit risk, the other two being inherent risk and control risk.
Exhaustive substantive tests and analysis may reduce the level of detection risk. Detection risk also depends on the quality of the auditors - the lower the quality of the auditor, generally the higher the detection risk. Detection risk may also be higher in regions where regulatory bodies are relatively ineffective.