To investigate the feasibility and success rate of a rabbit model of acute pulmonary embolism by using a central venous catheter to measure pulmonary artery pressure and assessing the anatomical and pathological changes. Methods The central venous catheter was placed into the rabbit pulmonary artery through the internal jugular vein using a guidewire and was connected to the Medlab biological signal acquisition and processing system for dynamic pulmonary artery pressure monitoring. A model of acute pulmonary embolism with relatively consistent severity and embolization range was created by controlling the number of thrombi injected via the catheter to obtain the target pulmonary artery pressure. Results The modeling success rate was 100%. After embolization, there were significant changes in the pulmonary artery pressure, blood pressure, and heart rate of the rabbits ( P < 0. 05). Cardiopulmonary anatomic examination confirmed that the catheter was in the main pulmonary artery. Pathological examination revealed thrombi in the pulmonary artery and pulmonary arterioles. Conclusions A rabbit model of acute pulmonary embolism was established by inserting a central venous catheter through the jugular vein; this not only ensured the integrity of the thrombi, but also enabled the attainment of continuous and accurate pulmonary artery pressure data and effectively established an animal model with controllable embolization range and severity. This method has a high success rate, is technically simple and economical, and provides an experimental basis for the diagnosis and treatment of acute pulmonary embolism.