The thermo-acoustic emission (AE) technique has been applied for nondestructive characterization of composite laminates subjected to cryogenic cooling. Thermo-AE events during heating and cooling cycles showed a Kaiser effect. An analysis of the thermo-AE behavior obtained during the 1st heating period suggested a method for determining the stress-free temperature of the composite laminates. Three different thermo-AE types classified by a short-time Fourier transform of AE signals enabled to offer a nondestructive estimation of the cryogenic damages of the composites, in that the different thermo-AE types corresponded to secondary microfracturing in the matrix contacting between crack surfaces and some abrasive contact between broken fiber ends during thermal load cycles.