Every mining-induced rock fracturing is associated with a specific failure mechanism.For rock burst monitoring,knowledge of failure mechanisms of microseismic events play an important role in understanding the stress distribution around the undergrond coal face and the various modes of fracturing which may be related to potential dynamic hazards (rock burst,strong tremor,et al.).So,characterization of rock failures using seismic waveforms is one of the most essential requirements in mine microseismic monitoring for rock burst prevention.This paper presents the results from microseismic monitorings carried out in different coal mines with high burst or stong mining-induced tremor risks.The results show that the seismic signals corresponding to different failure mechanisms have different characteristics in frequency,waveform duration,energy released,first motion of P-wave,the ratio of S- to P-wave energy,et al.The purpose of this study is trying to have a better understanding of the main failure modes associated with underground mining,especially the strong shear fracturing resulted in rock burst,which will greatly benefit the prevention and control of rock burst hazards in burst-prone coal mines.