Viral infection is the main death cause of infectious diseases in China. The establishment of an animal model to mimic the progression of viral infectious diseases in humans is of great significance to the study of pathogenesis and prevention of viral infectious diseases. As a new animal model established and developed in recent years, tree shrew has showed obvious advantages and potentials compared with other non?human primates and mice which are commonly used as virus?infected animal models. In this paper, the biological advantages of tree shrew as a novel animal model of viral infectious diseases are summarized, including taxonomy, physiology and immunology. In addition, the latest application of tree shrew in the research of many viral infectious diseases such as hepatitis virus, herpes simplex virus, influenza virus and enterovirus infections are compared and summarized.