At the present time, we are facing an increasing prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout worldwide. Worryingly, hyperuricemia is closely associated with the development of chronic kidney disease, hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerotic heart disease. The mechanism of these diseases and their complications have not been fully clarified, and there still exist some limitations and delays in the research into new drugs. One important obstacle is that there are too many types of hyperuricemia and gout animal models, and thus we are lacking a standard method. Moreover, most models have some shortcomings regarding the persistence and stability of blood uric acid levels. In this review, we discuss the availability of animal models of hyperuricemia and gouty arthritis, the method of model establishment, and the histopathological changes in major visceral organs, to provide a detailed reference for the establishment of animal models and the study of pathogenesis.