〔Abstract〕 Objective To analyze the applications and mechanisms of ulcerative colitis animal models. Methods 179 articles on simple ulcerative colitis and 20 articles on ulcerative colitis combined with disease syndrome were obtained by screening articles that met inclusion criteria，and the animal types, modeling methods, modeling time, numbers of animals in each group, time of drug intervention, the observation indexes and test indexes, etc. included in the above articles were analysed statistically. Results The experimental animal models are mainly 8-12 weeks male or half male and half female SD rats, 6-8 weeks male C57BL/6 mice, 6-8 weeks male C57BL/6 mice or 6-8 weeks male C57BL/6 mice; the modeling methods are mostly to freely drink dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-containing solution and inject trinitro-benzene-sulfonic acid (TNBS)-ethanol mixture into the rectum of the animal models; the drug intervention periods are primarily 7 d or 14 d; the observation indexes include disease activity index (DAI), colonic Mucosal damage index (CMDI), colon length and colon histological observation and scores, etc.; the most frequent test indexes are tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), IL-10, myeloperoxidase (MPO), etc. Conclusion The modeling methods of ulcerative colon are mostly to freely drink DSS-containing solution and inject TNBS-ethanol mixture into the rectum of the animal models. Test indexes like TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, NF-κB, IL-10, etc. are closely related to ulcerative colitis, the molding method and test index provides theoretical basis for further research on ulcerative colitis.