Abstract. The propagation of acoustic gravity waves through steadily convecting plasma in the thermosphere has been analysed theoretically. The growth and damping rates of internal gravity waves due to the feedback effects of wave-modulated Joule heating and Laplace forcing have been calculated. It is found that large convection flow velocities lead to the growth of large-scale internal gravity waves, whilst small- and medium-scale waves are heavily damped, under similar conditions. It has also been shown that wave growth is favoured for waves travelling against the plasma flow direction. The effects of critical coupling when wave phase speeds match the plasma flow speed have also been investigated. The results of these calculations are discussed in the context of the atmospheric energy budget and thermosphere-ionosphere coupling.