There are large areas of spontaneous coal combustion in northern and northwestern China. The quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from spontaneous coal combustion is an important step toward determining proper management practices to reduce such emissions in the future. The present study investigated the GHG emission characteristics of the spontaneous combustion of 10 typical coal types. Furthermore, this study examined the estimation method applied to the GHG emissions caused by spontaneous coal combustion. The experimental results showed that the rates of CH4 and CO2 emissions from spontaneous coal combustion resulting from mining activities were greater than the same rates of emissions resulting from mere surface air seepage (by factors of similar to 1.8 and respectively). The emission rate of CH4 was significantly correlated with the volatile content of coal, while the emission rate of CO2 was significantly correlated with the moisture, oxygen, and sulfur contents of coal. Three different characteristic phases were observed for the emission of CH4, with critical temperatures of 200, 400, and 600 degrees C, respectively. Below 200 degrees C, CH4 emissions were very slow; between 200 degrees C and 450 degrees C, the emissions increased slowly; and above 450 degrees C, the emissions increased rapidly. Similarly, the CO2 emissions were very low at temperatures below 200 degrees C, slowly grew between 200 degrees C and 450 degrees C, and quickly grew after 450 degrees C. The experimental emission factors of CO2 and CH4 caused by spontaneous coal combustion were obtained at different stages of spontaneous combustion. We subsequently determined that the annual GHG emissions from the Wuda coal field fire area of China were similar to 956 700 tons of CO2 equivalents. The results of this research offer a technical basis for quantifying GHG emissions from spontaneous coal combustion.