Objective To establish the convenient animal model of herpes simplex virus type-1(HSV-1) latent infection. Method BALB/c mice were divided into 3 groups: intravenous inoculation group,ocular abrasion group and intranasal inoculation group. Six weeks later the trigeminal ganglia(TG) were removed to detect the expression of HSV-1 antigen and the HSV DNA in TG was also detected by PCR to identify the existence of latent infection. Result The detected rate of HSV DNA in TG in intravenous inoculation group was 9/12 and was 13/16 in ocular abrasion group, which were higher than that in intranasal inoculation group(12/20). The expression of HSV antigen in TG in these 3 groups was all negative.The mortality of intravenous inoculation group was 4/15 which was much higher than those of two other groups. Conclusion The methods of intranasal virus dripping, cornea abrasion and intravenous injection can all establish the HSV-1 latent infection model in mice. Compared to two other groups cornea abrasion group shows less severe signs and a quicker recovery rate in acute infection and higher incidence rate of latent infection, so it is the ideal method to establish the HSV-1 latent infection model.