Myocardial injury is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, with diverse etiologies including ischemia, toxins, and inflammation. In basic research on myocardial injury, rodent animal models play a crucial role due to their unique advantages. This article systematically summarizes the technical characteristics and research progress of widely used rodent myocardial injury models, with emphasis on surgical models simulating ischemic myocardial infarction, non-ischemic injury models, and drug- or inflammation-induced myocardial injury models, while also exploring the application of genetic engineering models in this field. Through analysis, it is found that the coronary artery ligation model simulating myocardial infarction remains one of the most commonly used models for studying ischemic heart disease due to its good reproducibility and clinical relevance. However, other types of injury models, such as those for drug-induced cardiotoxicity, inflammatory responses, and myocardial repair, possess irreplaceable value in investigating specific pathological mechanisms. Understanding the characteristics and limitations of each model is of great significance for improving the quality of cardiovascular disease research and its potential for clinical translation.