Abstract: Acoustic emission (AE) monitored tensile tests were performed on 35CrMnSiA steel subjected to different heat treatments. The results showed that quenching and partitioning (Q-P) heat treatments enhanced the combined mechanical properties of high strength and high ductility for commercial 35CrMnSiA steel, as compared with traditional heat treatments such as quenching and tempering (Q-T) and austempering (AT). AE signals with high amplitude and high energy were produced during the tensile deformation of 35CrMnSiA steel with retained austenite (RA) in the microstructure (obtained via Q-P and AT heat treatments) due to an austenite-to-martensite phase transformation. Moreover, additional AE signals would not appear again and the mechanical properties would degenerate to a lower level once RA degenerated by tempering for the Q-P treated steel.