<p>In order to monitor and predict the failure of water-saturated rocks effectively, such as landslides, sudden mud flows, and debris flows, which are geological disasters, understanding the effect of water on infrared radiation is crucial. To investigate this influence, infrared monitoring experiments were conducted on intact sandstones and sandstones with pre-set crack, each with varying water content, under uniaxial compression condition. The infrared precursor information of water-bearing rocks was quantitatively discussed, and the spatiotemporal variations in infrared radiation were analyzed. The temperature distribution and energy evolution patterns during rock failure were also examined. The results show that the peak stress, total strain energy, and failure intensity of water-bearing rock under uniaxial loading are significantly lower than those of dry rock, which is one reason for the reduced infrared radiation temperature (IRT) in water-bearing rock samples. On the basis of the maximum and minimum changes in the IRT during rock loading and failure, the “ΔMax-ΔMin change characteristic” is proposed as an infrared precursor of rock failure. For dry sandstone, the precursor information typically exhibits “sudden increase-sudden increase” or “sudden increase-stable fluctuation”, whereas for water-bearing sandstone, it consistently shows a “sudden increase-sharp decrease”. Additionally, statistical analysis reveals a gradual increase in the frequency of high-temperature intervals during the failure process of dry sandstone, whereas the frequency of low-temperature intervals increases for water-bearing rock. This indicates that water reduces the infrared radiation intensity emitted during rock loading. Elucidating the impact of water on infrared radiation is crucial for guiding the use of infrared technology in monitoring the failure of water-bearing rocks.</p>