To analyze the existing method for obtaining animal models of hepatic encephalopathy and their clinical characteristics with a view to providing ideas for the establishment of animal models that are more in line with the clinical characteristics of Chinese and Western medicine. To search the Chinese Knowledge Network and Wanfang database, the keywords “hepatic encephalopathy”, “hepatic coma”, “animal”, and “animal model” were used. For the Pubmed database, “hepatic encephalopathy”, “hepatic coma”, “animal model”, and “animal” were used as search keywords. The literature on effective method of specific animal model preparation was collated and classified according to different modeling factors and method. The modeling method and characteristics were summarized, and the degree to which the animal models shared the clinical characteristics and symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy according to Chinese and Western medicine was assessed. The clinical match of the animal model was assigned and analyzed according to the clinical symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy in Chinese and Western medicine. There were 128 valid literature articles featuring 11 animal models obtained using 15 different modeling method. The highest degree of agreement with Western medicine was the CCl₄ oil solution intraperitoneal injection+gavage+ammonium chloride intraperitoneal injection model (92%), and the highest degree of agreement with traditional Chinese medicine was the CCl₄ oil solution intraperitoneal injection+ethanol aqueous solution self-drinking model (65%), but both lacked a combination of Chinese and Western medicine clinical characteristics. At present, animal models of hepatic encephalopathy that combine the characteristics of Chinese and Western medicine are lacking. Improving and refining the models to encompass the characteristics of both Chinese and Western medicine are expected to provide ideas for mechanism research and advance the clinical diagnosis and treatment of hepatic encephalopathy.