The effects of fiber orientation on acoustic emission (AE) characteristics have been studied for various composite laminates. Reflection and transmission optical microscopy were used to investigate the damage zone of specimens. AE signals were classified through short time Fourier transform (STFT) as different types: AE signals with a high intensity and high frequency band were due to fiber fracture, while weak AE signals with a low frequency band were due to matrix cracking and/or interfacial cracking. Characteristic feature in the rate of hit-events having high amplitudes showed a procedure of fiber breakages, which expressed the characteristic fracture processes of notched fiber-reinforced plastics with different fiber orientations. As a consequence, the behavior of fracture in the continuous composite laminates could be monitored through nondestructive evaluation (NDE) using the AE technique.