The history of animal model development for traditional Chinese medicine has progressed from directly using animal models of disease from western medicine to animal models of syndrome types of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as animal models on the basis of the characteristics of clinical symptoms of traditional Chinese and western medicine. Based on the systematic summary of animal model of Chinese medicine in the literature, this article analyzes the establishment, evaluation and application of animal models, and discusses the existing problems and shortcomings to promote the improvement and development of Chinese medicine animal models.