Hypoxia is associated with the occurrence and development of many diseases in clinical settings. Cell hypoxia not only serves as a vital marker for disease advancement, but also plays a pivotal role in exacerbating the disease process, and improving tissue hypoxia may thus provide new strategies for the treatment of related diseases. Further investigation of these diseases at the cellular and molecular levels requires the establishment of a cellular hypoxia model. Current extensively employed hypoxic cell models can be categorized primarily into three types: chemical hypoxia, physical hypoxia, and glucose deprivation hypoxia models. This article reviews the various types of hypoxic cell models and scrutinizes their applications and limitations in disease research.