Exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) result in adverse health effects to individuals and overall public health. Establishing animal models to explore the mechanism of radiation damage is essential to develop and evaluate radiation countermeasures. The efficacy of protective drugs in humans overexposed to IR cannot be evaluated in clinical trials, and animal models that are consistent with human responses to IR and radiation countermeasures should be established. This article provides a brief review of the establishment and applications of animal models for IR research followed by introducing radiation?induced health damage.