Demagnetization fault detection of in-service permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) is a challenging task, because most PMSMs operate under nonstationary circumstances in industrial applications. A novel approach based on tracking characteristic orders of stator current using Vold-Kalman filter is proposed to detect the partial demagnetization fault in PMSMs running at nonstationary conditions. The amplitude of envelope of the fault characteristic orders is used as fault indictor. Experimental results verify the superiority of the proposed method on the partial demagnetization online fault detection of PMSMs under various speed and load conditions.