This paper presents computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the coolant gas flow in a pebble bed reactor core to assess the suitability of CFD models to accurately predict the temperature distribution and possible occurrence of local hot spots that may affect pebble integrity. This study assessed CFD predictions against temperature distribution measurements from the SANA test facility at the Research Center Jülich in Germany. A realistic pebble bed structure of randomly packed 1584 pebbles was produced using the discrete element method to model the pebble packing in detail. A total of 96 experimental temperature pebble points were used for the assessments, covering a broad range of heating powers (10 kW ≤ Poperation ≤ 35 kW). A good agreement between the CFD predictions and the SANA measurements was obtained for two coolants, nitrogen and helium, along the height of the pebble bed. It is anticipated that a better understanding of the suitability of the existing CFD models gained through this study will aid in the identification of gaps and areas of improvement for CFD to support the design and safety evaluations for pebble bed small modular reactors.