Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an abnormal heart rhythm characterised by rapid and irregular beating. It is caused by multiple factors and can lead to ischemia-associated thrombosis, heart failure and other complex symptoms. Based on the etiology and characteristics of AF, animal models have 3 main categories including electrical, neurohormonal or vessel-related, and structural remodeling models. New technologies such as microRNA knock-down/overexpression or CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing provide tools for constructing animal AF models and directions in the development of AF therapeutic strategies. Currently these strategies have largely focused on the cellular and molecular therapeutics rather than traditional invasive electrophysiological methods or antiarrhythmic drugs. With the aid of new tools, progress has been greatly made in a broad range of therapeutic research areas including molecular mechanisms, drug targeting and screening. This review summarizes the animal models of atrial fibrillation currently used in studies of the molecular and cellular therapeutics and notes their contributions to this research area.