Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized with bradykinesia, tremor, rigidity, and abnormal postural reflexes due to lack of dopamine in the substantia nigra-striatum system resulting from the degeneration and necrosis of dopaminergic neurons. Experimental research is required in order to increase our knowledge on the cellular mechanism and functional consequences of this degenerative process. These models allow investigations of new therapeutics in order to improve the treatment of patients or to test new drugs for protection of any remaining dopaminergic neurons. The present article looks at the relative merits and limitation of each model, and the neuronal impairment it induces. It is becoming more and more clear that there is an urgent need for a chronic model integrating all the clinical features of PD including the gradual but continuous nigral degeneration observed in the human pathology.