With the population aging in our country, the incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm(AAA), an aged disease, has gradually increased. Because of the high mortality of ruptured AAA, which became one of the most severe life-threaten diseases. In histopathology, main AAA pathological features include elastin degradation, smooth muscle cells (SMCs) depletion, extracellular matrix digestion, and mural leukocytes accumulation. In clinics, open/endovascular repair remains the effective strategy for AAA management, and the drug therapy is still lacking. The detailed molecular mechanism of AAA is still unclear, which is one of the important bottlenecks affecting the development of potential drug targets. Animal models are the most powerful tools to clarify the pathogenesis of AAA. Though some medium to large laboratory animal models (such as rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs and pigs) are established for AAA study, rodent models (mice and rats) still take the first place in this field. At present, the methods to induce AAA include intra-infrarenal aortic infusion of elastase, subcutaneous infusion of angiotensin II (Ang II), periaortic calcium chloride painting, decellularized aortic xenograft and so on. For the cease of pre-induced stimulation (medical or surgical), AAA tends to stabilize in most models. Therefore, the development of ideal animal models, which maintains the continuous aortic dilation and even rupture, remains a problem. AAA animal models are helpful in elucidating the pathogenesis, screening new drug targets and promoting its clinical translation. This review aims to discuss the application of current AAA modeling methods and their translational relevance.