Sincethesimilarityinsizedistributionofearthquakesandacousticemissions(AE)wasfoundinthe1960s,manylaboratorystudieshavebeenmotivatedbytheneedtoprovidetoolsforthepredictionofminingfailuresandnaturalearthquakes.Thispaperaims,ontheonehand,todrawanoutlineoflaboratoryAEstudiesinthelast50years,whichhaveaddressedseismologicalproblems.TopicsincludethepowerlawsinwhichthesimilaritybetweenAEsandearthquakesisinvolvedandprogressthathasbeenmadeinAEtechnologyandlaboratoryAEstudy.Ontheotherhand,thisstudywillhighlightsomekeyissuesintensivelydiscussed,especiallyinthelastthreedecades,suchasaspectsrelatedtothepre-failuredamageevolution,faultnucleationandgrowthinbrittlerocksanddiscussfactorsgoverningtheseprocesses.