Abstract: In rock acoustic emission experiment, the reasonable arrangement of acoustic emission sensors is very important. Acoustic emission sensors are usually clamped to adhere to the surface of rock samples through Vaseline. Conventional methods are complicated to operate, and exposed acoustic emission sensors and data transmission lines may interfere with other experiments and operations. In order to solve this problem, a set of installation system of acoustic emission sensors has been developed for various sample sizes. And the rock direct shear AE test and uniaxial compression AE test were carried out, which could realize the installation of AE sensors conveniently and quickly. The acoustic emission sensors are hidden and asymmetrically arranged on the surface of the sample, without affecting loading and other simultaneous tests such as non-contact surface strain measurement, which creates conditions for rock mechanics test under complex test conditions, and the final test results also conform to the actual rock mechanical properties. Therefore, using the acoustic emission sensor placement device can effectively meet the requirements of acoustic emission tests under various complex testing conditions on rock shear testing machine.