Objective To study the characteristics of animal models of pulmonary fibrosis so as to provide a reference for the standardization of such models, and to guide research on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Methods Studies using experimental pulmonary fibrosis in animals published in the past 10 years were retrieved from the CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, and PubMed databases. Factors including animal species, sex, modeling method, and detection index were summarized, and the data were analyzed using Excel. Results A total of 292 eligible studies were included. The animals mainly included SD rats, Wistar rats, and C57BL / 6 mice, and most were male. The most common modeling drugs were bleomycin, paraquat, and silica suspension, mainly administered by intratracheal injection, with a typical modeling cycle of 28 d. The detection indexes mainly comprised lung tissue pathology and measurements of protein expression, cytokine levels, and biochemical indexes. Conclusions SD rats and C57BL / 6 mice were the most commonly used animals for experimental pulmonary fibrosis, and intratracheal injection of bleomycin (5 mg / kg) was the most frequently used modeling method. This approach allows for the straightforward and effective replication of pathological features resembling human pulmonary fibrosis, and may serve as a reference for future experimental studies using animal models of pulmonary fibrosis.