Abstract: In order to study the difference of acoustic emission response of coal samples with different strength. The acoustic emission test experiments of coal samples with different strength were carried out. The test result showed that: the change of acoustic emission showed the stage characteristics, and it can be divided into four stages: the stage of sporadic acoustic emission generation, the transition phase of acoustic emission increasing gradually, the phase of acoustic emission increasing rapidly, the stage of acoustic emission tending to stable. And with the increase of the intensity, the generation stage of sporadic acoustic emission becomes longer, and the maximum value of the acoustic emission count parameter increases.