To achieve desired accuracy, precision and surface roughness during laser-material removal process, monitoring and control of the process parameters related to laser, optics, workpiece material and its motion are required. Focus position, defined as a gap between the focusing lens and the surface of the sample workpiece, is one of the most critical process parameters, which determines the projection of the intensity of the laser beam on the surface to be ablated and therefore directly affects volume and geometry of the material removed and there by machining quality. In this paper, acoustic emission (AE) generated by laser-material interactions was statistically analyzed with respect to the variations in the focus position. The study involved on-line measurements of the AE signal from the laser-material interaction zone as a function of the focus position and the width of the machined trenches. Several basic statistical parameters, e.g. average amplitude, variance and power spectrum density were analyzed to select distinct informational parameters. Pattern recognition analysis of three informational parameters based on variances within frequency diapasons of 20-180, 180-300, and 300-500 kHz was used for reliable classification of the focus position and width of the machined trenches. The results provide important information for future development of on-line monitoring and control systems for laser-material removal process. Crown Copyright (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.