Acoustic emission tests of the core specimens retrieved from boreholes at the depth over 1000 m in Hongtoushan Copper Mine were carried out under uniaxial compressive loading, and the numerical test was also done by using the rock failure process analysis (RFPA^2D) code, based on the procedure for estimating geo-stresses by the Kaiser effect under uniaxial compression. According to the statistical damage mechanics theory, the Kaiser effect mechanism was analyzed. Based on these analyses, it is indicted that the traditional method of estimating geo-stresses by the Kaiser effect is not appropriate, and the result is usually smaller than the real one. Furthermore, the greater confining compression in the rock mass may result in a larger difference between the Kaiser effect stresses acquired from uniaxial loading in laboratory and the real in-situ stresses.