Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has high morbidity and mortality, and it poses heavy burdens on the patients and society. Currently, there are no effective therapies to prevent or reverse the progression of COPD. Therefore, it is significant in clinic to explore the pathological process and new therapeutic approaches of COPD using animal models. In this review, we summarized the recent progress in several frequently-used COPD animal models and their establishment methods.