Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a broad-spectrum disease caused by long-term heavy drinking, including alcoholic fatty liver, hepatitis, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. With the development of research, we have a certain understanding of the pathogenesis of ALD, but clinical treatment of ALD remains very limited. An appropriate ALD animal model is of great significance to elucidate ALD pathogenesis by seeking effective therapeutic targets and evaluating the therapeutic effects of related drugs. This review discusses the current research and development status of ALD animal models, introduces the modeling ideas, characteristics, and limitations of related models, and reviews the relevant new modeling ideas to provide a reference for researchers to establish appropriate ALD animal models.