Objective To evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of three surgical models of extrahepatic cholestasis in rats using serological, imaging, and pathological examinations. Methods Fifteen female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into traditional, modified, and electrocoagulation groups. The surgical models were bile duct ligation (n= 5) (BDL), modified hepatic duct ligation (HDL) ( n= 5), and choledochal electrocoagulation (CE) ( n= 5), respectively. Preoperative and postoperative computerized tomography (CT) scans were performed to compare changes in liver density and bile duct diameter. Blood samples were collected 7 d after surgery, and aspartate aminotransferase(AST), alanine aminotransferase ( ALT), total bilirubin ( TBIL), and direct bilirubin ( DBIL) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All rats were sacrificed using excessive anesthesia after blood collection, part of the liver was collected and fixed with 4% formalin solution, and pathological changes observed using paraffin section hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results Different degrees of liver injury and cholestasis were observed 7 d after surgery in all three groups. AST, TBIL, and DBIL were higher in the BDL group than in the CE group (P<0. 05). AST, ALT, TBIL, and DBIL were higher in the BDL group than in the HDL group (P<0. 05). There was no significant difference in ALT between the BDL group and CE group (P>0. 05), and no significant difference in AST, ALT, TBIL, and DBIL between the HDL group and CE group (P>0. 05). Pathology showed that biliary hyperplasia and biliary wall thickening were most serious in the BDL group, least serious in the HDL group, and moderate in the CE group. CT showed that the extrahepatic bile duct diameter was larger in the BDL group than in the HDL and CE groups (P<0. 05), but there was no significant difference between the HDL and CE groups (P> 0. 05). Liver CT value decreased after surgery in the BDL group (P< 0. 05), and showed no significant difference after surgery between the HDL and CE groups (P>0. 05). Conclusions Both the CE and HDL models effectively prolonged the course of cholestasis in rats, and better simulated human extrahepatic cholestasis diseases, suggesting their utility for dynamic observation of the course of cholestasis.