Objective To explore the method of establishing and evaluating a rat model of liver depression syndrome, and provide a reference for the standardized development of this model. Methods We conducted computer searches of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, VIP, PubMed, and Web of Science databases to identify experimental studies related to rat models of liver depression syndrome from November 14, 2019,to November 14, 2024. The literature was screened according to defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Information on publication time, animal conditions, related diseases, modeling method, modeling time, evaluation indicators, and intervention method was extracted. Data collation, frequency analysis, and association rule analysis were conducted using Excel 2021 and IBM SPSS Modeler 18. 0, and the result were displayed visually in the form of charts. Results A total of 192 eligible studies were finally included. Sprague-Dawley rats were the most commonly used rat models of liver depression syndrome ( 76. 05%), and most rats were male ( 62. 50%) and most were specific pathogen-free grade (82. 82%). The main related diseases were digestive system diseases (57. 90%). Among the syndrome types, liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome was the most common ( 62. 68%). Multifactor modeling was used for most models ( 55. 96%), and the modeling time was concentrated within 15 ~ 21 days.Potential combinations of macroscopic syndrome evaluation indicators were also obtained, with the main intervention method including Chinese medicine compound prescriptions ( 86. 82%). Conclusions Although the rat model of liver depression syndrome is widely used, it currently has problems such as non-standard names for syndrome types, a lack of standardized modeling method, and imperfect evaluation systems. This study provides ideas and references for standardizing syndrome types, optimizing the model, and improving the evaluation system for rat models of liver depression.