Depression is a common mental disorder with a high recurrence and suicide rate and is a serious threat to human physical and mental health. Animal models of depression mimic the disease phenotype of human depression, helping humans to study the pathogenesis of the disease and develop new antidepressant drugs. Although several rodent models of depression have been established, none of the existing single models simulate the whole disease well. The development of compound models allows researchers to more comprehensively analyze depression with higher reliability, but there are also problems such as complicated practical operations and poor consistency. Therefore, to select animal models that better meet experimental requirements, we reviewed articles related to rodent models of depression published up to 2021, compared the frequency of use of each model in the previous 5 years, and comprehensively summarized their modeling method , reliability evaluation, advantages and disadvantages, and current applications from the etiological and pathophysiological mechanisms of depression. We also systematically reviewed the current commonly used rodent models of depression. Additionally, the current rodent models of depression, including stress, pharmacological, genetic, surgical injury, composite, and other models, were systematically reviewed. Challenges in the establishment and use of future rodent models of depression are also presented to provide researchers with more feasible references, preferred options, and innovative directions to model depression.