The development of acoustic emission (AE) technique and its application in the field of researching energetic materials have been reviewed. From the research of AE features and the performance experimentation,the method and application of AE testing in the field of energetic materials have been analyzed and compared. The results show that AE testing,as a dynamic non-destructive testing technique,has unique reliability and advantages in the research of energetic materials,such as quality control,performance research,the monitor and evaluation of the inner damage,safety control during processing of energetic materials,etc.