Objective To study the modeling elements of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) animal models and provide a method ological reference to improve the success rate of modeling and evaluate the effectiveness of tested drugs. Methods Rheumatoid arthritis and animal models were used as subject headings and the relevant journal documents of CNKI and Wanfang databases (January 2017 to December 2019) were searched. The experimental animal species, excitation method, inflammatory method, and detection indexes were collected and a database was established. Excel 2012 and SPSS Statistics 19. 0 statistical software were used to carry out association rule and factor analyses of imported traditional Chinese medicine. Statistical analysis was also carried out. Results A total of 259 periodicals were included, among which male SD rats (69 times, 25. 18%) and male Wistar rats (54 times, 19. 71%) were the most frequently used experimental animals. The most frequently used inflammatory method were CIA (172 times, 62. 77%) and AA (82 times, 29. 93%). The most frequently used stimulation method were subcutaneous injection of the tail root (71 times, 25. 91%) and intradermal injection of the right hind foot (52 times, 18. 98%). The most frequently detected indexes were the swelling degree of the foot sole (133 times, 17. 48%), arthritis score index ( 84 times, 11. 04%), serum TNF-α level ( 74 times, 9. 72%), and joint histopathology (66 times, 8. 67%). Conclusions The result suggested the use of male SD or Wistar rats to induce inflammation by subcutaneous injection at the tail root when establishing animal models of rheumatoid arthritis. The success rate of the model can be improved using 0. 1 ml emulsion mixed with bovine type II collagen and Freund’ s incomplete or complete adjuvant at 1∶1. After consulting the literature in the past 3 years, 274 articles meeting the requirements were selected. This study analyzed the existing animal models, provides suggestions to improve animal models of rheumatoid arthritis and standardize model evaluation, improves the coincidence degree between animal models and the clinic, summarizes the research progress of animal models of rheumatoid arthritis from the aspects of model animal selection, types of rheumatoid arthritis models, modeling drugs and detection indexes, and promotes in-depth research of rheumatoid arthritis.