Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is a clinical syndrome in which at least one cognitive domain is damaged by cerebrovascular disease and vascular risk factors. The pathological manifestations include changes in vascular function, tissue damage, and nerve degeneration. Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is a major subtype of VCI, which accounts for most VCI. Pathological mechanism research and drug development for PSCI have mostly relied on VCI animal models. As researchers have put forward and discussed in-depth the PSCI concept, we found that the pathological characteristics and main damaged cognitive areas of the two are not exactly the same. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an animal model with the clinical features of PSCI. There are many types of experimental animal models for VCI, and a PSCI research model should be distinguished from a VCI animal model. This article introduces the characteristics and impaired cognitive domains of VCI and PSCI, summarizes and preliminarily evaluates common VCI and PSCI experimental animal models from the perspective of model construction, and provides useful suggestions for VCI and PSCI research.