Objective This paper analyzes the retraction of English research papers in the field of basic life sciences in China that involve violations of the welfare and ethics of laboratory animals, aiming to provide references for enhancing the awareness of laboratory animal welfare and ethics among researchers and strengthening the governance of scientific ethics in laboratory animal research. Methods Based on the Retraction Watch Database, this study systematically reviewed the English research papers in the field of basic life sciences that were authored by Chinese institutions and retracted from international journals between 2015 and 2024. The retractions related to violations of the welfare and ethics of laboratory animals were analyzed, including the number of retracted papers, research institutions, experimental subjects, journals, publishers, and retraction reasons. Results During the period from 2015 to 2024, 82 English papers in the field of basic life sciences in China were retracted related to violations of the welfare and ethics of laboratory animals, mainly concentrated between 2022 and 2024. The research institutions for the retracted papers were medical institutions (81.7%) and universities (18.3%), with the main experimental subjects being mice (76.8%) and rats (17.1%). All retracted papers were published in journals indexed by SCIE. The main retraction reason was the lack of ethical approval for animal experiments (61.0%), and animal welfare in tumor research experiments were the main animal welfare violations (18.3%). Conclusions To further enhance the awareness of laboratory animal welfare and ethics, and strengthen regulatory oversight in China, we suggested that relevant departments should cooperate in management, and build a closed-loop governance system for laboratory animal science and ethics, encompassing 'education, review, supervision, and accountability'.