Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a chronic progressive disease that, if not treated promptly, can ultimately lead to right heart failure and even death. To explore the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension and develop more effective treatments, it is necessary to establish an experimental model corresponding to its pathogenesis. In this review, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley, and CNKI were used to search the relevant literature. The establishment method and research progress of experimental models of pulmonary arterial hypertension in recent years were systematically summarized. Moreover, the pathological characteristics involved in these experimental models were classified and discussed to provide a reference to study the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension.