In the present work, the supersonic flow past an axisymmetric cylinder and over a three-dimensional cavity are investigated using detached-eddy simulation to evaluate the predictive capabilities of this simulation technique. The numerical predictions are compared with experimental data of Herrin and Dutton (1994) for the base flow and of Zhuang (2007) for the cavity flow. In the case of base flow, the mean velocity field and pressure along the base are well reproduced. In the cavity flow case, the predictions follow the trends of the measurement concerning the mean velocity field. Pertaining to the sound pressure level along the cavity floor, slightly higher pressure levels are predicted and the reasons are discussed. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.