Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a serious disease with poor prognosis, and its pathogenesis is still unclear. Current treatment method cannot cure the disease, and can only slow down its progression. Animal models are important tools for the study of PAH, and they play an extremely important role in the study of the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease and in the evaluation of prevention and treatment strategies. In this review, we discuss the hemodynamic changes and pulmonary artery histological remodeling characteristics of classic PAH animal models (hypoxia and monocrotaline models) and PAH double-clip animal models, with the aim of providing a reference for the selection of animal models for the study of novel mechanisms and new targets for the disease.