This paper presents a novel method by using acoustic emission technique to online study of the crack generation and expansion during laser cladding process. The cracks during laser cladding processes with five different laser cladding powder materials were online tested, respectively, with this method. Through finite element analysis (FEA), the temperature ranges of crack generation and expansion were figured out. The main forms and extended forms of the cracks were investigated by using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The experiment and analysis results show that the amount of cracks increases with the area and thickness of coating and the cooling rate increasing. A majority of cracks occur in the bonding zone and extend cross the whole cladding coating along the perpendicular direction of laser scanning during laser cladding, and few cracks generate in the cooling process. There are mainly four kinds of crack forms, and the forms of crack expansion are related to the stress states of coating and substrate. The method and conclusions in this paper provide important information for reducing the cracks during large area laser cladding process. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.