Perimenopausal depression seriously affects women’s physical and mental health. It is caused primarily by gonadal function decline, which is typically characterized by low mood, anxiety, slow thinking, and loss of interest, and is accompanied by autonomic dysfunction and endocrine dysfunction. The pathogenesis of perimenopausal depression remains unclear and controversial. Many scholars have conducted scientific research that is based on animal models of perimenopausal depression. Indeed, a good animal model of perimenopausal depression is the basic premise for studying its pathophysiological mechanisms and for facilitating reliability of the scientific result. Therefore, this paper combines the modern research mechanisms of perimenopausal depression and the current status of animal models in China, and provides an overview, evaluation, and generalization of the modeling method, principles and result, to provide a scientific basis and reference for the selection of suitable animal models for scientific research experiments.