Abstract: In order to meet the needs of in-service dynamic monitoring of broken wire defect of steel wire rope, COMSOL software was used to simulate the acoustic emission detection of steel wire rope. Firstly, the structure model of wire rope was established. Then, the transmission process of acoustic emission sources with different frequencies and positions in the structure was simulated, and the displacement field and energy change of signals with different positions were acquired. Finally, according to the guided wave theory, the characteristic frequencies and modal components of different types of acoustic emission sources were analyzed by using wavelet transform combined with the dispersion characteristics. The experimental results show that, concerning acoustic emission sources with different frequencies and excitation directions, the main modal components and eigenfrequencies are quite different while the acoustic emission signal propagates. Based on the time-frequency analysis at different locations with the theoretical dispersion curve, the main modal characteristics of the acoustic emission source signal can be identified, and the different vibration directions and center frequencies of the acoustic emission sources in the structure are determined. The research results can provide a theoretical reference for the detection of wire rope damage using acoustic emission.