The mechanical durability and reliability of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are one of the critical issues for their realizations and engineering applications. To achieve the goal, extensive and detailed investigations into the mechanical damage process are needed. This paper presents an acoustic emission (AE) method for detecting the mechanical damage in anode-supported cells (ASCs). Start/Stop cycle tests (between RT and 800°C) were carried out using single cells. The cells with a configuration of NiO-YSZ/YSZ/GDC/LSCF-GDC/LSCF of 20 mm in diameter were prepared and sealed on an alumina tube with a borosilicate glass ring only in the cathode side. After 2 cycle start/stop cycles, no damage was induced in the cells and their electrical performances were maintained without degradation. The experimental results indicated that the AE technique employed in this study allowed us to distinguish the damages in the cells from the cracking in the glass seals. Based on the result, the mechanical damages during redox treatments were evaluated using the AE technique. The electrochemical evaluation performed concurrently with the redox treatments demonstrated the validity and significance of AE monitoring for detecting mechanical damages in SOFCs.