Traumatic craniocerebral injury (TBI) is the main cause of disability and death among young individuals worldwide. Animal models are important tools for studying the underlying mechanism of TBI injury and play an important role in studying the occurrence and development of TBI and its specific injury process. Due to the complicated pathological mechanisms of TBI, there are currently various protocols for establishing TBI animal models, mostly based on the cause and nature of injury. However, there is no unified standard for the preparation of TBI model, and the field is still evolving, with ongoing development, supplementation and improvement. This paper summarizes the experimental animals commonly used for TBI worldwide, and, reviews the commonly used modeling methods of TBI based on the different injury characteristics: focal injury, diffuse injury and mixed injury. This review will provide insights and assistance for basic research and clinical treatment of TBI.