The　ability　to　effectively　classify　human　emotion　states　is　critically　important　for　human-computer　or　human-robot　interactions.　However,　emotion　classification　with　physiological　signals　is　still　a　challenging　problem　due　to　the　diversity　of　emotion　expression　and　the　characteristic　differences　in　different　modal　signals.　A　novel　learning-based　network　architecture　is　presented　that　can　exploit　four-modal　physiological　signals,　electrocardiogram,　electrodermal　activity,　electromyography,　and　blood　volume　pulse,　and　make　a　classification　of　emotion　states.　It　features　two　kinds　of　attention　modules,　feature-level,　and　semantic-level,　which　drive　the　network　to　focus　on　the　information-rich　features　by　mimicking　the　human　attention　mechanism.　The　feature-level　attention　module　encodes　the　rich　information　of　each　physiological　signal.　While　the　semantic-level　attention　module　captures　the　semantic　dependencies　among　modals.　The　performance　of　the　designed　network　is　evaluated　with　the　open-source　Wearable　Stress　and　Affect　Detection　dataset.　The　developed　emotion　classification　system　achieves　an　accuracy　of　83.88%.　Results　demonstrated　that　the　proposed　network　could　effectively　process　four-modal　physiological　signals　and　achieve　high　accuracy　of　emotion　classification.　©　2024　The　Author(s).　Cognitive　Computation　and　Systems　published　by　John　Wiley　&　Sons　Ltd　on　behalf　of　The　Institution　of　Engineering　and　Technology　and　Shenzhen　University.