This paper addresses the problem of fault estimation observer design with finite-frequency specifications for discrete-time Takagi–Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy systems. First, for such T-S fuzzy models, an $H_\infty$ fault estimation observer with pole-placement constraint is proposed to achieve fault estimation. Based on the generalized Kalman–Yakubovich–Popov lemma, the given finite-frequency observer possesses less conservatism compared with the design of the entire-frequency domain. Furthermore, the performance of the presented fault estimation observer is further enhanced by adding the degree of freedom. Finally, two examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.