Objective To summarize the characteristics of animal models of acute kidney injury (AKI) developed domestically and internationally, providing references for the standardization and normalization of animal model preparation for this disease. Methods We searched and collated relevant literature on AKI animal models reported in CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, and PubMed databases since their establishment. Data for animal strains, modeling method, modeling cycles, modeling criteria, positive drugs, detection indicators, and other parameters were analyzed. Results In total, 266 articles were included (220 in Chinese and 46 in English). The majority of animal strains were male rats, aged 8 to 10 weeks and weighing 180 g to 250 g. There were 22 modeling method; ischemia-reperfusion and intramuscular injection of glycerol were the primary single-factor modeling approaches. The modeling cycle was mostly concentrated within 14 days, with the highest number of articles recording between 6 and 24 h. The criteria for verifying model establishment were not unified; however, most articles used SCr, BUN, and renal pathological changes. Positive drugs mainly included captopril and ginsenoside. Detection indicators mainly involved comprehensive evaluations, such as renal function assessment, histopathological evaluation, and experimental animal observation. Conclusions Well-standardized AKI animal model preparation and modeling criteria with high clinical concordance are still lacking. The comprehensive application of multi-level and multi-angle detection indicators needs improvement. There remains significant research space for establishing a combined model of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes and diseases.