Insomnia is a common neuropsychiatric disease with increasing incidence in recent years. Tianwang Buxin Dan (TWBXD) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription to invigorate the heart and calm nerves for the treatment of insomnia, which is widely used in clinical practice. Investigation of the pharmacological effects and action mechanism of TWBXD is based on the establishment of proper animal models. This article summarizes relevant literature in the past 10 years with a focus on multiple insomnia animal models ( platform over water, parachlorophenylalanine, light rhythm disturbance, and TCM syndrome) and their strengths and weaknesses, methodology, and evaluation properties. The sleep-improving effects of TWBXD and its signal herbs are associated with TCM syndrome to establish animal models that fit the characteristics of TCM syndrome and provide a reference for the clinical application of TWBXD.