Depression is a common mental illness, and its main symptoms are depression and loss of interest. At the same time, it may be accompanied by cognitive impairment, decreased motivation, impaired diet and sleep, and various physical symptoms. The incidence of depression is increasing year by year. According to the World Health Organization, more than 100 million people worldwide suffer from this disease. However, little is known about the causes and causes of depression. A reasonable animal model of depression is an important tool for screening antidepressants and elucidating their mechanism of action. This article introduces and evaluates the currently used rodent depression models to provide references for animal depression research.