Particle motion is a major determinant of the dynamical performance of a fluidized bed. It plays an important role in determining and optimizing the complex correlation of fluidization condition between particle-particle and particle-environment in a system. A passive acoustic emission (AE) technique is applied to monitor, characterize, and control the fluidization condition of polyethylene particles in a gas-solid fluidized bed. Experimental results show that AE signals are very sensitive to the particle movements by analyzing energy distribution, which can help to understand the status of the system. The AE energy temporal analysis is further used to identify the transition of flow regimes. Moreover, the activity of particle motion can be quantitatively determined by using a combination of granular temperature and AE spatial energy analysis. This work provides valuable insights into the dynamic behavior of particles in a gas-solid fluidized bed based on AE technique. (C) 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE 1, 56: 1173-1183, 2010