<p>Coal and gas outburst represents a major hazard in coal mining, whose accurate monitoring and early warning remain a key challenge in safety management. This study, through a self-developed coal-rock gas-solid coupling damage catastrophe test system, reveals the acoustic-thermal response characteristics and failure modes of gas-bearing coal during its deformation and failure process. The results show that mechanical parameters show a trend of first increasing, then decreasing, increasing again with the gas pressure increasing. Near rupture, the average infrared radiation temperature (AIRT) of gas-free coal rises, while the AIRT of the gas-bearing coal drops. Both variance of differential infrared radiation temperature (VDIRT) and the change rate of acoustic emission count (CRAEC) mutate with the stress drop and the mutation amplitude of the CRAEC is far greater than the VDIRT. When rupture occurs, the characteristic of AE signal transforms from low-frequency-high-amplitude into low-frequency-high-amplitude and high-frequency-high-amplitude with the gas pressure increasing. The loading process of coal is dominated by tensile crack. As the gas pressure increases, the RA-AF distribution extends from the origin to the horizontal and vertical axis. The main occurrence stage of tensile and shear events is postponed from the fourth stage (75–100%σ_p) to the post-peak failure stage influenced by the gas. These findings have paved the way for further exploration of acoustic-thermal precursors in gas-bearing coal failure, establishing a theoretical basis for monitoring and early-warning of gas-related accidents.</p>