Though vertical variation in woody tissue respiration (R_wood) was reported in several studies, R_wood at only breast height was often used in estimates for whole-tree woody tissue respiration (R_whole). Measurements at only breast height may cause serious errors in the estimates, especially for emergent trees in tropical rainforests, which are often taller than 50m. In order to clarify appropriate measurements design for R_whole estimates for emergent trees, we examined vertical variations in R_wood for emergent trees in a Bornean tropical rainforest. We measured R_wood for seven trees which consisted of two major species using ladders and 90m crane facility. R_wood were measured at four to seven heights of each trees, up to 40m stem height. We did not find any specific trends in vertical variation in R_wood for the seven trees. Furthermore, R_whole estimated from measurements at several stem heights and R_whole estimated from measurements at only breast height (R_whole’) had clear linear relationship (R_whole = 0.98 ×R_whole’, R²=0.92). These results suggest that R_wood at only breast height can be used for reasonable R_whole estimates for emergent trees.