Abstract: By using loading control system and acoustic emission testing system, the coal seam roof and floor sandstone specimens of a mine are under uniaxial loading to monitor the use of acoustic emission testing equipment at the same time for acoustic emission characteristic parameters of sandstone specimens including the total number of ringing, ringing count rate, channel amplitude, energy, energy rate, amplitude under uniaxial loading condition. The results show that the structure of test sandstone is single, high strength and brittle performance; AE energy of the specimen and acoustic emission event rate is identical; the acoustic emission of AE energy rate before rock destruction is more obvious relative to quiet period; the feature points relative to quiet period can be used as precursor feature points of rock failure; the stress intensity percentage of rock sample feature points relative to quiet period is 90% to 98%, both are at the stage of unstable crack propagation after the yield point.